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{{Short description|Conceptual framework}}
In [[sociology]], '''social complexity''' is a [[conceptual framework]] used in the [[analysis]] of society. Contemporary definitions of [[complexity]] in the [[science]]s are found in relation to [[systems theory]], in which a [[phenomenon]] under study has many parts and many possible arrangements of the relationships between those parts. At the same time, what is complex and what is simple is relative and may change with time.<ref>Waldrop, M. Mitchell (1992.) ''Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos.'' New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.</ref>▼
[[File:Clapham Junction - 49317028078.jpg|alt=The complex mass of train tracks through Clapham Junction, UK as an analogy of the complex society its infrastructure supports. |thumb|350x350px|'''Social complexity:''' The infrastructure of train tracks through the [[Clapham Junction railway station]], UK, is analogous to the complexity of the society served by the railroad.]]
▲In
Current usage of the term "complexity" in the field of sociology typically refers specifically to theories of society as a [[complex adaptive system]]. However, social complexity and its [[emergence|emergent]] properties are central recurring themes throughout the historical development of [[Social philosophy|social thought]] and the study of [[social change]].<ref name="CCS-MMT">Eve, Raymond, Sara Horsfall and Mary E. Lee (eds.) (1997). ''Chaos, Complexity and Sociology: Myths, Models, and Theories.'' Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.</ref> The [[History of sociology|early founders]] of [[sociological theory]], such as [[Ferdinand Tönnies]], [[Émile Durkheim]], [[Max Weber]], [[Vilfredo Pareto]], and [[Georg Simmel]], all examined the exponential growth and increasing interrelatedness of social encounters and [[Social exchange theory|exchanges]]. This emphasis on [[interconnectivity]] in social relationships and the emergence of new properties within society is found in [[Social theory|theoretical thinking]] in multiple [[Subfields of sociology|areas of sociology]].<ref name="AGid-79">Giddens, Anthony (1979). ''Central problems in Social Theory: Action, Structure and Contradiction in Social Analysis.'' London: Macmillan.</ref> As a theoretical tool, social complexity theory serves as a basis for the connection of [[Microsociology|micro-]] and [[Macrosociology|macro]]-level social phenomena, providing a [[wikt:meso-|meso-]]level or [[Middle range theory (sociology)|middle-range]] theoretical platform for [[hypothesis]] formation.<ref>Freese, Lee (1980). "Formal Theorizing." ''Annual Review of Sociology'', 6: 187–212 (August 1980).</ref><ref>Cohen, B. P. (1989). ''Developing sociological knowledge: theory and method'' (2nd ed.). Chicago: Nelson–Hall.</ref> [[Research methods#Research methods|Methodologically]], the concept of social complexity is theory-neutral, meaning that it accommodates both local ([[Microsociology|micro]]) and global ([[Macrosociology|macro]]) phenomena in sociological research.<ref name="CCS-MMT" />▼
Contemporary usage of the term ''complexity'' specifically refers to sociologic theories of society as a [[complex adaptive system]], however, social complexity and its [[emergence|emergent]] properties are recurring subjects throughout the historical development of [[social philosophy]] and the study of [[social change]].<ref name="CCS-MMT">Eve, Raymond, Sara Horsfall and Mary E. Lee (eds.) (1997). ''Chaos, Complexity and Sociology: Myths, Models, and Theories.'' Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.</ref>
==Theoretical background==▼
[[File:Penrose tiling.gif|thumb|Illustration of complexity ([[Penrose tiling]] [[fractal]])]]▼
The American sociologist [[Talcott Parsons]] carried on the work of the early founders mentioned above in his early (1937) work on [[Action theory (sociology)|action theory]].<ref name="Parsons-a">Parsons, Talcott ([1937] 1949). ''The Structure of Social Action: A Study in Social Theory with Special Reference to a Group of European Writers''. New York, NY: The Free Press.</ref> By 1951, Parsons places these earlier ideas firmly into the realm of formal [[systems theory]] in ''The Social System''.<ref name="Parsons-b">Parsons, Talcott (1951). ''The Social System''. New York, NY: The Free Press</ref> For the next several decades, this synergy between general [[systems thinking]] and the further development of [[social system]] theories is carried forward by Parson's student, [[Robert K. Merton]], and a long line of others, in discussions of theories of the [[Middle range theory (sociology)|middle-range]] and [[Structure and agency|social structure and agency]]. During part of this same period, from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, discussion ensues in any number of other research areas about the properties of systems in which strong correlation of sub-parts leads to observed behaviors variously described as [[autopoiesis|autopoetic]], [[self-organization|self-organizing]], [[Dynamical system|dynamical]], [[turbulent]], and [[Chaotic system|chaotic]]. All of these are forms of system behavior arising from mathematical [[Complexity science|complexity]]. By the early 1990s, the work of social theorists such as [[Niklas Luhmann]]<ref>Luhmann, Niklas (1990.) ''Essays on Self-Reference'', New York: Columbia University Press.</ref> began reflecting these themes of complex behavior.▼
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One of the earliest usages of the term "complexity", in the [[Social science|social]] and [[behavioral sciences]], to refer specifically to a [[complex system]] is found in the study of [[Complexity theory and organizations|modern organizations]] and [[management studies]].<ref>Kiel, L. Douglas (1994). ''Managing Chaos and Complexity in Government: A New Paradigm for Managing Change, Innovation and Organizational Renewal.'' Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.</ref> However, particularly in management studies, the term often has been used in a [[metaphor]]ical rather than in a [[Qualitative property|qualitative]] or [[quantitative property|quantiative]] theoretical manner.<ref name="CCS-MMT" /> By the mid-1990s, the "complexity turn"<ref name=Urry>Urry, John (2005). "The Complexity Turn." ''Theory, Culture and Society'', 22(5): 1–14.</ref> in social sciences begins as some of the same tools generally used in [[complexity science]] are incorporated into the social sciences. By 1998, the international, electronic periodical, ''[[Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation]]'', had been created. In the last several years, many publications have presented overviews of complexity theory within the field of sociology. Within this body of work, connections also are drawn to yet other theoretical traditions, including [[constructivist epistemology]] and the philosophical positions of [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]], [[postmodernism]] and [[critical realism (philosophy of the social sciences)|critical realism]].▼
{{Sociology}}
▲
▲One of the earliest usages of the term "complexity", in the [[Social science|social]] and [[behavioral sciences]], to refer specifically to a [[complex system]] is found in the study of [[Complexity theory and organizations|modern organizations]] and [[management studies]].<ref>Kiel, L. Douglas (1994). ''Managing Chaos and Complexity in Government: A New Paradigm for Managing Change, Innovation and Organizational Renewal.'' Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.</ref> However, particularly in management studies, the term often has been used in a [[metaphor]]ical rather than in a [[Qualitative property|qualitative]] or [[quantitative property|
==Methodologies==
▲[[File:Penrose tiling.gif|thumb|Illustration of complexity ([[Penrose tiling]] [[fractal]])]]
Methodologically, social complexity is theory-neutral, meaning that it accommodates both local and global approaches to sociological research.<ref name="CCS-MMT"/> The very idea of social complexity arises out of the [[Historical comparative research|historical-comparative]] methods of early sociologists; obviously, this method is important in developing, defining, and refining the theoretical construct of social complexity. As complex social systems have many parts and there are many possible relationships between those parts, appropriate methodologies are typically determined to some degree by the research level of analysis [[Differentiation (sociology)|differentiated]]<ref>Luhmann, Niklas (1982). ''The Differentiation of Society.'' New York, NY: Columbia University Press.</ref> by the researcher according to the level of description or explanation demanded by the research hypotheses.
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The development of [[computational sociology]] involves such scholars as [[Nigel Gilbert]], [[Klaus G. Troitzsch]], [[Joshua M. Epstein]], and others. The foci of methods in this field include [[social simulation]] and [[data-mining]], both of which are sub-areas of computational sociology. Social simulation uses computers to create an artificial laboratory for the study of complex social systems; [[Data mining|data-mining]] uses machine intelligence to search for non-trivial patterns of relations in large, complex, real-world databases. The emerging methods of [[socionics]] are a variant of computational sociology.<ref>Gilbert, Nigel and Klaus G. Troitzsch (2005). ''Simulation for Social Scientists'', 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Open University Press.</ref><ref name=epstein07>Epstein, Joshua M. (2007). ''Generative Social Science: Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.</ref>
Computational sociology is influenced by a number of micro-sociological areas as well as the macro-level traditions of systems science and systems thinking. The micro-level influences of [[symbolic interactionism|symbolic interaction]], [[exchange theory|exchange]], and [[rational choice theory|rational choice]], along with the micro-level focus of computational political scientists, such as [[Robert Axelrod (political scientist)|Robert Axelrod]], helped to develop computational sociology's [[:wikt:bottom-up|bottom-up]], [[agent-based]] approach to modeling complex systems. This is what [[Joshua M. Epstein]] calls [[generative science]].<ref name=epstein07 /> Other important areas of influence include [[statistics]], [[mathematical modeling]] and computer [[simulation]].
===Sociocybernetics===
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==Areas of application==
In the first decade of the 21st century, the diversity of areas of application has grown<ref>Saberi, Mohammad Karim, Alireza Isfandyari-Moghaddam and Sedigheh Mohamadesmaeil (2011). "Web Citations Analysis of the JASSS: the First Ten Years." [http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/14/4/22.html ''Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation'', 14:(4), 22].</ref> as more sophisticated methods have developed. Social complexity theory is applied in studies of social [[cooperation]] and [[public goods]];<ref>Nowak, Martin and Roger Highfield (2011). ''Super Cooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed''. New York, NY: Free Press.</ref> [[Altruism (ethics)|altruism]];<ref>Hang, Ye, Fei Tan, Mei Ding, Yongmin Jia and Yefeng Chen (2011). "Sympathy and Punishment: Evolution of Cooperation in Public Goods Game." [http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/14/4/20.html ''Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation'', 14(4): 20].</ref>
As a [[Middle range theory (sociology)|middle-range]] theoretical platform, social complexity can be applied to any research in which [[social interaction]] or the outcomes of such interactions can be observed, but particularly where they can be [[Measurement|measured]] and expressed as [[Continuous function (set theory)|continuous]] or [[Discrete mathematics|discrete]] data points. One common criticism often cited regarding the usefulness of complexity science in sociology is the difficulty of obtaining adequate data.<ref>Stewart, Peter (2001). "Complexity Theories, Social Theory, and the Question of Social Complexity." ''Philosophy of the Social Sciences'', 31(3): 323–360.</ref> Nonetheless, application of the concept of social complexity and the analysis of such complexity has begun and continues to be an ongoing field of inquiry in sociology. From [[childhood]] friendships and [[teen pregnancy]]<ref name="CCS-MMT" /> to [[criminology]]<ref>Lee, Ju-Sung. (2001). "Evolving Drug Networks." [http://www.casos.cs.cmu.edu/ Carnegie Mellon Center for Computational Analysis of Social and Organizational Systems (CASOS)] Conference Presentation (unpublished).</ref> and [[counter-terrorism]],<ref>Carley, Kathleen (2003). "Destabilizing Terrorist Networks." ''Proceedings of the 8th International Command and Control Research and Technology Symposium''. Conference held at the National Defense War College: Washington D.C., Evidence Based Research, Track 3. [http://www.dodccrp.org/events/2003/8th_ICCRTS/pdf/021.pdf (Electronic Publication).] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041218014917/http://www.dodccrp.org/events/2003/8th_ICCRTS/pdf/021.pdf |date=2004-12-18 }}</ref> theories of social complexity are being applied in almost all [[Subfields of sociology|areas of sociological research]].
In the area of [[Communications theory|communications research]] and [[informetrics]], the concept of self-organizing systems appears in mid-1990s research related to scientific communications.<ref>[[Loet Leydesdorff|Leydesdorff, Loet]] (1995). ''The Challenge of Scientometrics: The development, measurement, and self-organization of scientific communications''. Leiden: DSWO Press, Leiden University.</ref> [[Scientometrics]] and [[bibliometrics]] are areas of research in which discrete data are available, as are several other areas of social communications research such as [[sociolinguistics]].<ref name="CCS-MMT" /> Social complexity is also a concept used in [[semiotics]].<ref>Dimitrov, Vladimir and Robert Woog (1997). "Studying Social Complexity: From Soft to Virtual Systems Methodology." [http://www.complex-systems.com/pdf/11-6-5.pdf Complex Systems, 11:(6)].</ref>
▲In the first decade of the 21st century, the diversity of areas of application has grown<ref>Saberi, Mohammad Karim, Alireza Isfandyari-Moghaddam and Sedigheh Mohamadesmaeil (2011). "Web Citations Analysis of the JASSS: the First Ten Years." [http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/14/4/22.html ''Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation'', 14:(4), 22].</ref> as more sophisticated methods have developed. Social complexity theory is applied in studies of social [[cooperation]] and [[public goods]];<ref>Nowak, Martin and Roger Highfield (2011). ''Super Cooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed''. New York, NY: Free Press.</ref> [[Altruism (ethics)|altruism]];<ref>Hang, Ye, Fei Tan, Mei Ding, Yongmin Jia and Yefeng Chen (2011). "Sympathy and Punishment: Evolution of Cooperation in Public Goods Game." [http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/14/4/20.html ''Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation'', 14(4): 20].</ref> [[voting behavior]];<ref> Braha, D., & de Aguiar, M. A. (2016). [https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.04406 Voting Contagion]. arXiv preprint arXiv:1610.04406.</ref><ref>Braha, D., & de Aguiar, M. A. (2017). [http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0177970 Voting contagion: Modeling and analysis of a century of U.S. presidential elections]. PLoS ONE 12(5): e0177970. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177970</ref> [[education]];<ref>Mason, Mark (2008). ''Complexity Theory and the Philosophy of Education''. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell (Educational Philosophy and Theory Special Issues).</ref> global [[civil unrest]];<ref>Braha, Dan. (2012). [http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0048596 "Global Civil Unrest: Contagion, Self-Organization, and Prediction."] PLoS ONE 7(10): e48596. doi:10.1371/journal.pone .0048596.</ref> [[collective action]] and [[social movement]]s;<ref>Lohmann Susanne (1994). "Dynamics of Informational Cascades: The Monday Demonstrations in Leipzig, East Germany, 1989–1991," ''World Politics'', 47: 42–101.</ref><ref>Chesters, Graeme and Ian Welsh (2006). ''Complexity and Social Movements: Protest at the Edge of Chaos." London: Routledge (International Library of Sociology).</ref> [[social inequality]];<ref>Castellani, Brian et al. (2011). "Addressing the U.S. Financial/Housing Crisis: Pareto, Schelling and Social Mobility."[http://cch.ashtabula.kent.edu/publications/Addressing%20the%20U.S.%20Financial%20&%20Housing%20Crisis.pdf Working Paper].</ref> workforce and [[unemployment]];<ref>Hedström, Peter and Yvonne Åberg (2011). "Social interaction and youth unemployment." ''Analytical Sociology and Social Mechanisms'', Pierre Demeulenaere (ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref><ref>Yilmaz, Levent (2011). "Toward Multi-Level, Multi-Theoretical Model Portfolios for Scientific Enterprise Workforce Dynamics." [http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/14/4/2.html ''Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation'', 14(4): 2.]</ref> [[economic geography]] and [[economic sociology]];<ref> Dan Braha, Blake Stacey and Yaneer Bar-Yam. (2011). [http://necsi.edu/affiliates/braha/Journal_Version_SON_Braha.pdf "Corporate Competition: A Self-Organizing Network."] Social Networks, 33(3): 219-230.</ref> [[policy analysis]];<ref>Jervis, Robert (1998). ''System Effects: Complexity in Political and Social Life''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.</ref><ref>Elliott, Euel and L. Douglas Kiel (eds.) (2000). ''Nonlinear Dynamics, Complexity and Public Policy''. Hauppauge NY: Nova Science Publishers.</ref> [[health care systems]];<ref>Brian Castellani, Rajeev Rajaram, J. Galen Buckwalter, Michael Ball and Frederic Hafferty (2012). [https://www.springer.com/public+health/book/978-3-319-09733-6 "Place and Health as Complex Systems: A Case Study and Empirical Test"]. ''SpringerBriefs in Public Health.''</ref> and [[innovation]] and [[social change]],<ref>Leydesdorff, Loet (2006). ''The Knowledge-Based Economy Modeled, Measured, Simulated''. Boca Raton, FL: Universal-Publishers .</ref><ref>Lane, D.; Pumain, D.; Leeuw, S.E. van der; West, G. (eds.) (2009). ''Complexity Perspectives in Innovation and Social Change''. New York, NY: Springer (Methodos Series, Vol. 7).</ref> to name a few. A current international scientific research project, the [[Seshat (project)|Seshat: Global History Databank]], was explicitly designed to analyze changes in social complexity from the [[Neolithic Revolution]] until the [[Industrial Revolution]].
==See also==
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{{col-2}}
=== Social science ===
* [[Complex society]]
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* [[Personal information management]]
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{{Portal|
=== General ===
* [[Aggregate data]]
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