Social contagion with emotional group interactions

YuQianqian Ma, Peng Zhang and Leyang Xue

Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, 2025, vol. 194, issue C

Abstract: Individual decisions and behaviors are shaped not only by direct interactions with others but also by the collective emotional dynamics within groups. In this work, we propose the signed simplicial contagion model, which integrates both pairwise and emotional group interactions to investigate contagion processes in signed networks. Using mean field analysis and numerical simulations, we demonstrate that emotional group interactions can drive complex phenomena, including discontinuous phase transitions, bistable behavior, and hysteresis loops. As the proportion of negative edges (q) increases, the influence of group interactions weakens, leading to a shift from discontinuous to continuous phase transitions. Our findings reveal a fundamental asymmetry in how pairwise and group interactions respond to changes in q: pairwise interactions respond in a linear manner, while group interactions exhibit nonlinear sensitivity, decreasing gradually and more slowly. This divergence shifts the dominant contagion mechanisms depending on the balance of trust and distrust within the network. These insights provide a deeper understanding of how emotional relationships influence contagion dynamics in social systems, offering a foundation for targeted interventions in signed networks.

Keywords: Signed networks; Higher-order interaction; Contagion process (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:chsofr:v:194:y:2025:i:c:s0960077925001560

DOI: 10.1016/j.chaos.2025.116143

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