When behaviour turns contagious: the use of deterministic epidemiological models in modeling social contagion phenomena

Sooknanan, Joanna; Comissiong, Donna M. G.

doi:10.1007/s40435-016-0271-9

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…Generally speaking, epidemiological models are used to model the spread of an influence in a population [55]. What spreads in these models, and in what kind of population, covers a wide range of topics, including biological diseases, computer viruses, political and religious following, crime, financial crises and gossip [56,57]. A shared factor is that the state of a member of the population is categorical: one either is or is not infected.…”

Section: Epidemiologicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotion contagion in agent-based simulations of crowds: a systematic review

Haeringen

Gerritsen

Hindriks

2022

Auton Agent Multi-Agent Syst

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Emotions are known to spread among people, a process known as emotion contagion. Both positive and negative emotions are believed to be contagious, but the mass spread of negative emotions has attracted the most attention due to its danger to society. The use of agent-based techniques to simulate emotion contagion in crowds has grown over the last decade and a range of contagion mechanisms and applications have been considered. With this review we aim to give a comprehensive overview of agent-based methods to implement emotion contagion in crowd simulations. We took a systematic approach and collected studies from Web of Science, Scopus, IEEE and ACM that propose agent-based models that include a process of emotion contagion in crowds. We classify the models in three categories based on the mechanism of emotion contagion and analyse the contagion mechanism, application and findings of the studies. Additionally, a broad overview is given of other agent characteristics that are commonly considered in the models. We conclude that there are fundamental theoretical differences among the mechanisms of emotion contagion that reflect a difference in view on the contagion process and its application, although findings from comparative studies are inconclusive. Further, while large theoretical progress has been made in recent years, empirical evaluation of the proposed models is lagging behind due to the complexity of reliably measuring emotions and context in large groups. We make several suggestions on a way forward regarding validation to eventually justify the application of models of emotion contagion in society.

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Section: Epidemiologicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotion contagion in agent-based simulations of crowds: a systematic review

Haeringen

Gerritsen

Hindriks

2022

Auton Agent Multi-Agent Syst

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“…The theory of behaviour as contagious has more recently been employed to understand and model specific patterns of behaviours in individual organisations and groups, as illustrated in the work of Gladwell ( 2001 ), Sooknanan and Comissiong ( 2017 ), House ( 2011 ), Robinson and O’Leary-Kelly ( 1998 ), Connolly and Åberg ( 1993 ), Bettencourt et al ( 2006 ), as well as Ambrose et al ( 2013 ). Each argued that rather than considering the behaviour of individuals on a micro-level, individual behaviours could be understood on a macro-level, with their prevalence and movement traced according to the same mechanisms at play in epidemiology.…”

Section: Social Contagionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The epidemiology of moral bioenhancement

Gibson

2020

Med Health Care and Philos

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In their 2008 paper, Persson and Savulescu suggest that for moral bioenhancement (MBE) to be effective at eliminating the danger of ‘ultimate harm’ the intervention would need to be compulsory. This is because those most in need of MBE would be least likely to undergo the intervention voluntarily. By drawing on concepts and theories from epidemiology, this paper will suggest that MBE may not need to be universal and compulsory to be effective at significantly improving the collective moral standing of a human populace and reducing the threat of ultimate harm. It will identify similarities between the mechanisms that allow biological contagions (such as a virus) and behaviours (such as those concerned with ethical and unethical actions) to develop, spread, and be reinforced within a population. It will then go onto suggest that, just as with the epidemiological principle of herd immunity, if enough people underwent MBE to reach a minimum threshold then the incidence and spread of immoral behaviours could be significantly reduced, even in those who have not received MBE.

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“…Bedson et al, 2021), such as the dissemination of ideas or information (Avena-Koenigsberger et al, 2018). According to Sooknanan and Comissiong (2017), the spread or 'contagion' of good behavior, in mathematical terms, is similar to the spread of a virus. Thus, contagion modeling techniques were applied to the example of good behavior, in this case, the voluntary mitigation of a company's externalities beyond what is required by law.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Follow the genuine leader: The “green imitation”

Calderón

Urbina

Expósito

2022

Business Ethics Env & Resp

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The combined effect of coercion (public and private pressure), self‐interest (competitive advantage) and conviction (intrinsically motivated or genuine) explain why environmental issues have become a key priority for companies. While research has explored coercion and competitive advantage, the role of conviction has received little attention. This paper aims to address this gap. Conviction, which has been correlated with institutional and individual drivers, offers more stable results and a potential multiplier effect as good examples are disseminated by imitation throughout an industry. While the role of imitation has drawn increasing attention of business management studies, it has received scant attention in research on sustainability. This is the second gap this paper aims to address, contributing to the literature on sustainability in two ways: firstly, we will further explore the role of conviction in environmental sustainability; secondly, employing a compartmental model of epidemic propagation, used for other social phenomena, we model the role genuine examples by leaders can play within an industry and the dissemination of good behavior by imitation. Defining genuine conviction as the voluntary mitigation of the externalities of a firm's operations beyond that required by law or the market, substantiated in the responsible behavior of its leaders, our model discovers patterns that policymakers could use to create a “sustainability epidemic”. We suggest mathematical models of epidemics can be applied to sustainability, offering a fresh perspective on the phenomenon of imitation, allowing us to discover how some cultural and social habits can be used.

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When behaviour turns contagious: the use of deterministic epidemiological models in modeling social contagion phenomena

Cited by 18 publications

References 53 publications

Emotion contagion in agent-based simulations of crowds: a systematic review

Emotion contagion in agent-based simulations of crowds: a systematic review

The epidemiology of moral bioenhancement

Follow the genuine leader: The “green imitation”

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