Mechanisms

Simple linear convergence to equilibrium points

Random walks, PageRank centrality

Local kinetic interaction

several models of collective behavior (Couzin et al., 2004), such as flocks, schools, herds, and crowds.
Boids, swarm chemistry 
 

Local activation + long range inhibition

Reaction-diffusion (Turing patterns)

Spontaneous symmetry breaking

Coarsening patterns

Preferential attachment / rich-gets-richer

Social networks, naming/language games
//cognitive science (Trianni and Tuci, 2009Gershenson, 2010). This kind of research is also related to collective intelligence (Hutchins, 1995) and the evolution of language (Steels, 2003).

Stigmergy

Social insects, sociocultural processes 

Balance b/w production and destruction

Game of Life, autopoiesis
//self-maintenance, which is related to homeostasis (Ashby, 1947a1960Williams, 2006) and has been studied in relation to artificial chemistries (Ono and Ikegami, 19992001)

Balance b/w exploration and exploitation

Evolutionary algorithms, PSO

Coevolution of structure and behavior

Adaptive networks, mind-body coevolution

Energy accumulation and release by cascade

Sand pile models, forest fire
self-organized criticality

Other? 

Discussion

Lots of balances... order/chaos, robustness/adaptability, production/destruction, exploration/exploitation... self-organization can be useful to let systems find the appropriate balance for their current context, as it is known that the optimal balance can change \citep*{GershensonHelbing2015}

Future Perspectives

How can one make self-organization programmable?
Can one predict the macroscopic outcomes of self-organization?
What are the roles of self-organization in ALife challenges (e.g., open-ended evolution)?