DHB: Dynamics of Information Flow and Decisions in Social Networks

Indiana University, Bloomington IN

Investigators

Abstract

When people draw on information from their individual experiences and local surroundings and use it to make a decision or judgment on a particular issue, some individuals may obtain information permitting them to make a correct decision. In contrast, others may obtain biased or inadequate samples of information. In situations like this, pooling informational resources among a number of people may help the group as a whole arrive at a better decision. This proposal outlines two projects examining how individuals can draw upon information that flows through social networks of friends and acquaintances, and use it in making their individual decisions. The process is dynamic, for as each individual draws on others' input to make decisions, his or her decisions in turn provide additional information to others in the network. Each project considers the relationships of variables at several levels, from individual agents' decision strategies (e.g., how much weight to give socially provided versus individually obtained information), to inter-agent interactions in which agents exchange information, to the overall structures of social networks. The first project considers multiple agents who are sharing information and influencing each others' choices on a particular decision (such as the choice of consumer products, or the preference for a particular social policy). The second project considers multiple agents who are assessing each other as potential partners or mates, and examines how these decisions are influenced by the spread of information about the agents themselves through the social network. Both projects will use multi-agent simulation techniques and empirical studies with human participants. The projects will have several types of broader impacts. They will increase interdisciplinary interchange, by applying novel multi-agent simulation techniques in combination with social psychological theories and empirical findings, to deepen our understanding of the role of information flow through social networks in the decision-making process. The first project may help develop ways for people to more efficiently draw on the information and experiences of others as they make their own individual decisions (e.g., purchasing consumer products) and thereby improve the outcomes of those decisions. Finally, the second project may ultimately help enhance understanding of how people select others as partners or mates, and perhaps improve the quality of those decisions - with a potential impact on the high divorce rate in society and on the multiple social problems to which it contributes.