2025/12/11 by Thomas Goetz, Goetz, Thomas, Tyll Krueger +7
Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · Social Sciences · #Dynamical Systems (math.DS) #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #FOS: Biological sciences #FOS: Mathematics #FOS: Physical sciences #Mathematical and Theoretical Epidemiology and Ecology Models #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2512.10612
openalex publication_date 2025/12/11 · openalex created_date 2025/12/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This research investigates the coupled dynamics of behavior and infectious disease using a mathematical model. We integrate a two-state q-voter opinion process with SIS-type infection dynamics, where transmission rates are influenced by the opinion and an infection-induced switching mechanism represents individuals reassessing their behavior upon infection. Analytically, we derive conditions for the stability of endemic and disease-free equilibria. Numerical simulations reveal complex dynamics: above a certain infectivity threshold, the system can exhibit alternative basins of attraction leading to a balanced endemic fixed point or stable limit cycles. Notably, the dominant asymptotic opinion and resulting epidemiological outcomes show non-monotonic relationships with infectivity, highlighting the potential for adaptive behavior to induce complex system dynamics. These findings underscore the critical role of social interventions; shifts in behavioral norms and trust can permanently alter epidemic outcomes, suggesting that such interventions are as crucial as biomedical controls