Models of Social Influence: Towards the Next Frontiers

In , Robert Axelrod wondered in a highly influential paper "If people tend to become more alike in their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior when they interact, why do not all such di erences eventually disappear?" Axelrod's question highlighted an ongoing quest for formal theoretical answers joined by researchers from a wide range of disciplines. Numerous models have been developed to understand why and under what conditions diversity in beliefs, attitudes and behavior can co-exist with the fact that very o en in interactions, social influence reduces di erences between people. Reviewing three prominent approaches, we discuss the theoretical ingredients that researchers added to classic models of social…

• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• RG
  Rijksuniversiteit Groningen