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ID: 079922

Homophily, cultural drift, and the co-evolution of cultural gro / Centola, Damon; González-Avella, Juan Carlos; Eguíluz, Víctor M; Miguel, Maxi San

Centola, Damon	Journal Article
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2007.

Summary/Abstract

Studies of cultural differentiation have shown that social mechanisms that normally lead to cultural convergence-homophily and influence-can also explain how distinct cultural groups can form. However, this emergent cultural diversity has proven to be unstable in the face of cultural drift-small errors or innovations that allow cultures to change from within. The authors develop a model of cultural differentiation that combines the traditional mechanisms of homophily and influence with a third mechanism of network homophily, in which network structure co-evolves with cultural interaction. Results show that in certain regions of the parameter space, these co-evolutionary dynamics can lead to patterns of cultural diversity that are stable in the presence of cultural drift. The authors address the implications of these findings for understanding the stability of cultural diversity in the face of increasing technological trends toward globalization.

Key Words

Social Networks ; Cultural Diversity ; Homophily ; Cultural Drift ; Social Dynamics

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ID: 109935

Local convergence and global diversity: from interpersonal to social influence / Flache, Andreas; Macy, Michael W

Flache, Andreas	Journal Article
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2011.

Summary/Abstract

How can minority cultures resist assimilation into a global monolith in an increasingly "small world"? Paradoxically, Axelrod found that local convergence can actually preserve global diversity if cultural influence is combined with homophily, the principle that "likes attract." However, follow-up studies showed that this diversity collapses under random cultural perturbation. The authors discovered a new source of this fragility-the assumption in Axelrod's model that cultural influence is interpersonal (dyadic). The authors replicated previous models but with the more empirically plausible assumption that influence is social-people can be simultaneously influenced by several network neighbors. Computational experiments show that cultural diversity then becomes much more robust than in Axelrod's original model or in published variations that included either social influence or homophily but not both. The authors conclude that global diversity may be sustained not by cultural experimentation and innovation but by the ability of cultural groups to discourage those activities.

Key Words

Social Networks ; Cultural Diversity ; Homophily ; Cultural Drift ; Social Influence ; Agent - Based Models

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