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Article published In: Interaction Studies
Vol. 16:1 (2015) ► pp.118–140

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External stores

Simulating the evolution of storing goods and its effects on human behaviour

 | School of Psychology, Plymouth University, UK, PL48AA | Centre for Robotics & Neural Systems and Cognition Institute, Plymouth University, UK, PL48AA | Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council of Rome, Italy, 00185 |
 | Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council of Rome, Italy, 00185 |
 | Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council of Rome, Italy, 00185 |
Published online: 17 August 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1075/is.16.1.06bis
Human beings possess external stores in which they put all sorts of goods to use them at some later time. In this paper we investigate this typically human adaptation using agent-based simulations. We show that the use of external stores explains many aspects of human life, allowing the agents to reduce their dependence on both the environment and the current state of their body and to be more efficient in extracting the energy contained in the environment. We analyse the spatial behaviour of agents with external stores located in specific positions of the environment and we find that these agents tend to develop a sedentary life. We discuss how stores can be at the origin of many human mental and social phenomena such as the acquisition of a more extended temporal perspective, specialisation in producing different types of goods, and exchange of goods.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The usefulness of external stores
    • 2.1 Methods
    • 2.2 Results
    • 2.3 Discussion and further analysis
  • 3.Sedentary life
    • 3.1 Methods
    • 3.2 Results
    • 3.3 Discussion
    • 3.4 Sedentary behaviour
  • 4.Summary of results and general discussion
    • 4.1 Future work
    • 4.2 Social stores and central stores
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgement
  • References
References (52)
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