Social polarization promoted by sparse higher-order interactions

2025/07/16 by Hugo Pérez-Martínez, Pérez-Martínez, Hugo, Santiago Lamata-Otín +9 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Social Sciences · #Complex Network Analysis Techniques #FOS: Physical sciences #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #Social Media and Politics

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2507.12325

openalex publication_date 2025/07/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/14 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Many social interactions are group-based, yet their role in social polarization remains largely unexplored. To bridge this gap here we introduce a higher-order framework that takes into account both group interactions and homophily. We find that group interactions can strongly enhance polarization in sparse systems by limiting agents' exposure to dissenting views. Conversely, they can suppress polarization in fully connected societies, an effect that intensifies as the group size increases. Our results highlight that polarization depends not only on the homophily strength but also on the structure and microscopic arrangement of group interactions.

Citations

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Cited by

• Explosive adoption of corrupt behaviors in social systems with higher-order interactions
• Dynamic link switching induces stable synchronized states in sparse networks

Related

• Why more social interactions lead to more polarization in societies
• Polarisation in increasingly connected societies
• Paths to Polarization: How Extreme Views, Miscommunication, and Random\n Chance Drive Opinion Dynamics
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• Exploring the formation dynamics of affective polarization by considering a coupled feedback