Statistical Approaches for Modeling Human Social Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Human social systems are inherently complex, shaped by dynamic interactions, collective behaviors, and cognitive processes that influence individual and group decisions. Advances in statistical modeling now allow us to better understand, quantify, and predict these social dynamics using rigorous analytical and computational tools. Entropy is calling for original research submissions for a Special Issue focusing on statistical approaches for modeling human social systems, with special attention to the integration of information-theoretic and entropy-based concepts.

We invite contributions presenting innovative statistical, probabilistic, and data-driven models aimed at explaining or forecasting human and social behavior. Potential topics include—but are not limited to—statistical modeling of sentiment and opinion dynamics in social networks, cognitive decision-making processes, and co-decision frameworks such as shared decision making in health systems. Studies addressing the statistical structure of online interactions, the diffusion of emotions and information in digital communication platforms, and the role of uncertainty and information flow in social coordination are also within scope.

We particularly welcome interdisciplinary work connecting statistics, psychology, cognitive science, computational social science, medicine, and information theory, as well as studies combining statistical physics approaches, Bayesian inference, or entropy-based measures to capture the emergent complexity of human decision-making and social organization.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to highlight high-quality, impactful research advancing our understanding of human social systems through the lens of statistical and information-theoretic modeling, bridging individual cognition and collective phenomena. We welcome contributions addressing the quantitative analysis of collective and cognitive behaviors, including sentiment and opinion dynamics in social networks, decision-making under uncertainty, and shared decision processes such as doctor–patient co-decision in health systems. Interdisciplinary studies that bridge statistics, information theory, cognitive science, and computational social science are particularly encouraged.

Dr. Jorge Navarro
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Entropy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.