Contagious Information
A study published by the Association for Psychological Science has found interesting implications about behavior in social networks. In particular, the study involved the concept of how the distribution of information in a network could influence the spread of certain behaviors. To examine this, researchers used computer simulations of large networks; previous experiments had used smaller networks of real people, so one question was whether the computer simulation would match the results of these earlier experiments.
In each trial, there were two groups of simulated nodes, and each node memorized information. One group was composed of completely unconnected nodes, whereas the nodes were all connected in the other group. When each trial finished, researchers compared the combined memory of the connected group to the combined memory of the unconnected group. In every case, the collective memory of the unconnected group was higher than that of the connected group. These results were similar to tests performed with real people; in a connected network, the interactions between nodes can cause each node to focus on similar information, which is somewhat like a cascade.
The study also examined simulations of more realistic networks and found that the less distance there is between two nodes, the more similar information they have. Nodes that are directly connected have very similar information, while nodes with a common neighbor have an indirect influence on each other, making the neighbor similar to a local bridge. In addition, the researchers found that the indirect influence between two nodes is virtually nothing after six degrees of separation, providing an interesting link to previous experiments in sociology. Overall, these results prove that information can spread contagiously through a network, and because information is linked to behavior, behaviors can spread contagiously as well. This analysis of behavior has a number of psychological implications, the purpose of the study.
ScienceDaily: Information is contagious among social connections