2015/12/15 by Carl‐Friedrich Schleussner, Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich, Jonathan F. Donges +5 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Physics and Astronomy · Social Sciences · #Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems (nlin.AO) #Evolution and Genetic Dynamics #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #FOS: Computer and information sciences #FOS: Physical sciences #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #Social and Information Networks (cs.SI)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1512.05013
openalex publication_date 2015/12/15 · openalex created_date 2022/10/03 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Large-scale transitions in societies are associated with both individual\nbehavioural change and restructuring of the social network. These two factors\nhave often been considered independently, yet recent advances in social network\nresearch challenge this view. Here we show that common features of societal\nmarginalization and clustering emerge naturally during transitions in a\nco-evolutionary adaptive network model. This is achieved by explicitly\nconsidering the interplay between individual interaction and a dynamic network\nstructure in behavioural selection. We exemplify this mechanism by simulating\nhow smoking behaviour and the network structure get reconfigured by changing\nsocial norms. Our results are consistent with empirical findings: The\nprevalence of smoking was reduced, remaining smokers were preferentially\nconnected among each other and formed increasingly marginalised clusters. We\npropose that self-amplifying feedbacks between individual behaviour and dynamic\nrestructuring of the network are main drivers of the transition. This\ngenerative mechanism for co-evolution of individual behaviour and social\nnetwork structure may apply to a wide range of examples beyond smoking.\n