The effects of decision-making processes and population turnover on the formation of social networks

DOI10.1155/2013/906785MaRDI QIDQ474735zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Authors Zhijing Xu, Zhenghu Zu, Tao Zheng, Wendou Zhang, Qing Xu

Publication date 24 November 2014

Published in Mathematical Problems in Engineering (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/906785

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Decision theory (91B06) Individual preferences (91B08) Social networks; opinion dynamics (91D30)

Review text

Summary: The researchs on the structure and formation mechanism of social networks lead to several models with differences in the attachment patterns of new links (edges). In fact, the driving factor behind the addition of new links is just as important as the attachment patterns, while very little attention has been devoted so far to this exploration. We present an agent-based model which could successfully reproduce large-scale social networks. We find that the structure of social networks is a consequence of continuous individuals' decision-making processes based on self-evaluations and the turnover of the population. The individuals' self-evaluation processes are key motivating factors for the addition of new links, while the attachment patterns and the turnover of the population should be responsible for the topology of social networks. The resulting networks of our model display dynamics between order and randomness, which is greatly consistent with current observations and research achievements of social networks. We also find that some plausible properties of empirical data are actually artifacts due to the boundedness of sampling. Our research has revealed the driving factors behind the evolution of social networks as well as the underlying evolving patterns. These findings will lead to a better understanding of social structures.

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Cites work

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Cited in

(8)

• Predicting adolescent social networks to stop smoking in secondary schools
• The creation and change of social networks: a logical study based on group size
• Extended decision field theory with social-learning for long-term decision-making processes in social networks
• Social roles and the evolution of networks in extreme and isolated environments
• Emergence of segregation in evolving social networks
• Universal growth of social groups: empirical analysis and modeling
• Sustainable online communities exhibit distinct hierarchical structures across scales of size
• Investigating the formation phase of a new online social network

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