call for papers: Formal Models and Empirically Informed Simulations of Interpersonal Dynamics

[Peter Dayan]

Dear colleagues,

We would like to draw your attention to the Call for Papers for the
Special Issue "Formal Models and Empirically Informed Simulations of
Interpersonal Dynamics" in the journal Zeitschrift für Psychologie (a
journal published in English with a German title). The submission
deadline for proposals is July 15, 2026, and the submission deadline for
full manuscripts is November 15, 2026.

Further information can be found at:
https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1027/2151-2604/a000619

Kind regards,
Stefan Westermann and Peter Dayan

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Topic of the Special Issue:

Within a dyad of two interacting individuals, each serves as the
environment for the other and, in turn, experiences the other as their
environment. Capturing the complex interpersonal dynamics that emerge
from this interdependence is a major psychological and computational
challenge. Interactions become even richer given polyadic relationships
and larger groups. Mathematical and computational methods offer powerful
tools for uncovering the mechanisms that shape such interact ions.

The topical issue "Formal models and empirically informed simulations of
interpersonal dynamics" will highlight recent advances in applying such
methods to the study of interpersonal processes. We invite
contributions from across psychological disciplines - including social,
clinical, and personality psychology - that employ frameworks such as
agent-based modeling, evolutionary game theory, Bayesian modeling,
active inference, and related approaches to provide formal ways of
representing, simulating, and analyzing interpersonal phenomena. Both
purely theory-driven, formal models and empirically informed simulations
are welcome, offering insights into the emergence, maintenance, and
change of interpersonal patterns.