Where Forward-Looking and Backward-Looking Models Meet

The present paper begins by deriving an instantaneous formulation for the backwardlooking (reinforcement based learning) satisfaction balance model of Gray and Tallman (1984). This model is then used to generate interactional data from four simulated agents in a network interaction experiment. Because this initial model does not generate stable interaction structures in the network experiment, it is altered step by step in the direction of a forward-looking (agent with goals) model that has been shown to generate such stable interaction structures. The purpose of the modifications are to learn what aspects of the forward-looking model are needed to evolve a stable interaction structure, and to learn how these aspects may be incorporated into a model that remains essentially reinforcement based.