Abstract for: Psychology SIG Annual Meeting

The Psychology SIG studies ways to better integrate psychological and sociological constructs into system dynamics models. These constructs can lead to better understanding of the causes of many problems. They can also be used in simulation models that explore social science theories with the hope of generating new research questions, identifying impactful policies, and subsequently guiding program implementation and evaluation. The SIG is concerned with ways to use these constructs in formulating, simulating and validating models. To satisfy these activities the SIG supports networking, education, collaborative modeling projects, and manuscript/modeling consultation and review. Our meeting will include a presentation by a guest speaker as well as discussion about plans for SIG activities over the coming year, areas where members can collaborate, and other SIG business. Dana Ilmari Polojärvi, Professor of Humanities and Communications at Maine Maritime Academy, is this year's guest speaker. His topic is "Developing a system dynamics approach to history and the historical soft sciences: A structured approach to transforming paradigms." Dr. Polojärvi's presentation will cover his unique approach to teaching history and sociology using system dynamics, with an emphasis on his on-going research and use of published works to support and validate this genre of modeling.