2006/06/07 by Pierluigi Contucci, Stefano Ghirlanda, Contucci, Pierluigi +1 · 1 citation
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Mathematical Physics (math-ph) #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #Statistical Mechanics (cond-mat.stat-mech) #cond-mat.stat-mech #math-ph #math.MP #physics.soc-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.physics/0606062
arxiv created 2006/06/07 · openalex publication_date 2006/06/07 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We introduce a general modeling framework to predict the outcomes, at the population level, of individual psychology and behavior. The framework prescribes that researchers build a cost function that embodies knowledge of what trait values (opinions, behaviors, etc.) are favored by individual interactions under given social conditions. Predictions at the population level are then drawn using methods from statistical mechanics, a branch of theoretical physics born to link the microscopic and macroscopic behavior of physical systems. We demonstrate our approach building a model of cultural contact between two cultures (e.g., immigration), showing that it is possible to make predictions about how contact changes the two cultures.