2006/01/21 by Uygar Ozesmi, Ozesmi, Uygar
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #FOS: Biological sciences #Other Quantitative Biology (q-bio.OT) #Quantitative Methods (q-bio.QM) #q-bio.OT #q-bio.QM
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.q-bio/0601033
8 pages, 2 tables, 1 figure
arxiv created 2006/01/21 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
Many networks in natural and human-made systems exhibit scale-free properties and are small worlds. Now we show that people's understanding of complex systems in their cognitive maps also follow a scale-free topology. People focus on a few attributes, relating these with many other things in the system. Many more attributes have very few connections. People use relatively short explanations to describe events; their cognitive map is a small world with less than six degrees of separation. These findings may help us to better understand people's perceptions, especially when it comes to decision-making, conflict resolution, politics and management.