Search
Program Calendar
Browse By Day
Browse By Time
Browse By Person
Browse By Room
Browse By Division
Browse By Session Type
Search Tips
Personal Schedule
Sign In
In recent years, communication scholars from different fields have been proposing many new theoretical and empirical models concerning reinforcing spirals in media use, effects, and content. The statistical models used to test these theories are, however, far from consensual to date and leave researchers with a plethora of decisions in their configuration. In this paper, we suggest using agent-based modeling (ABM) to assess the quality of these models before applying them to actual data. Using simulated scenarios in which the dynamic processes occur as predicted, the reliability and fit of reinforcing spiral models may be critically assessed and documented beforehand and indicate optimal configurations for a given theory. The approach is illustrated with different dynamic processes and statistical models and discussed for future uses in reinforcing spirals research.