Social conventions change when individuals collectively adopt an alternative over the status quo, in a process known as social diffusion. This paper proposes an agent-based model of social diffusion incorporating inertia and trend-seeking, two behavioral mechanisms documented in social psychology. The model resolves contradictions in existing models and reproduces patterns consistent with experimental data and empirical observations at individual and population levels. Trend-seeking leads to explosive diffusion, while inertia delays take-off.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Sep 29, 2021
Authors
Mengbin Ye, Lorenzo Zino, Žan Mlakar, Jan Willem Bolderdijk, Hans Risselada, Bob M. Fennis, Ming Cao
Tags
social diffusion
agent-based model
inertia
trend-seeking
behavioral mechanisms
social psychology
experimental data
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