Looking at what people do, is it even possible, in principle, to find evidence of rules or preferences?
The answer being: yes, insofar as we take constraints into account, behavior that follows rules or preferences can be inferred if (1) it departs from what would be expected from “random” behavior under given similar constraints (in this case not only demographic but also legal, as when marriage prohibitions are imposed on the simulation model), and (2) there is empirical evidence supporting the mechanism by which preferential behaviors are implemented.
