3.21 Appendix 2: Social Fields and Social Forces
59
3.21 Appendix 2: Social Fields and Social Forces
When I worked on the social force model, I soon discovered a book by Kurt Levin
(1890–1947) on the concept of the “social field”.
72 I immediately liked his idea,
even though a behavioral and theoretical foundation of the concept was missing. So
I decided to develop this foundation in my Ph.D. thesis in 1992.
73 This involved
deriving Boltzmann-like and Boltzmann-Fokker-Planck equations using behavioral
assumptions.
74
These equations contain a quantity describing a systematic motion in behavioral
space, which can be interpreted as a “social force” and is often expressed as the
slope of a “social field”. This social field can be imagined like a mountain range in
behavioral space, where the steepest slope in a given location determines the social
force that a person is subject to. This social force indicates the expected size and
direction of the behavioral change. “Valleys” in the social field correspond to social
norms. If someone complies with a norm, the social force is zero, but a deviation
from the social norm will cause a social force (just as in real-life situations).
Note, however, that the “mountain range” discussed above (and its corresponding
social field) is variable in time. It changes as a result of the behavioral changes of
others. Therefore, while the social field influences the behavior of a person, at the
same time, it is modified by that person’s behavior and the behavior of others. In
other words, social norms may change over time as a result of social interactions.
References
1. A. Mazloumian, D. Helbing, S. Lozano, R. P. Light and K. Börner (2013) Global multi-level
analysis of the ‘Scientific Food Web’. Scientific Reports 3, 1167.
2. T. Kuhn, M. Perc, and D. Helbing, Inheritance patterns in citation networks reveal scientific
memes, Phys. Rev. X 4, 041036.
3. M. Schich, C. Song, Y. Y. Ahn, A. Mirsky, M. Martino, A.L. Barabási and D. Helbing, A
network framework of cultural history. Science 345, 558–562 (2014).
4. A. Mazloumian et al. (2012) Global multi-level analysis of the ‘scientific food web’, Scientific
Reports 3: 1167.
5. D. Lazer, R. Kennedy, G. King, and A. Vespignani, The parable of Google Flu: Traps in Big
Data analytics. Science 343, 1203–1205 (2014).
6. D. Brockmann, L. Hufnagel, and T. Geisel, The scaling laws of human travel, Nature 439,
462–465 (2006).
7. V. Colizza, A. Barrat, M. Barthelemy, A.-J. Valleron, and A. Vespignani, Modeling the worldwide spread of panemic influenza: Baseline case and containment interventions. PLoS Medicine
4(1): e13.
8. D. Helbing and A. Carbone (eds.) Participatory Science and Computing for Our Complex
World. EPJ Special Topics 214, 1–666 (2012).
9. M. Hechter and K.-D. Opp, Social Norms (Russell Sage Foundation, 2009).
72 Lewin [50].
73 Helbing [51]; for an English translation see Ref. 96.
74 Helbing [52].
59
3.21 Appendix 2: Social Fields and Social Forces
When I worked on the social force model, I soon discovered a book by Kurt Levin
(1890–1947) on the concept of the “social field”.
72 I immediately liked his idea,
even though a behavioral and theoretical foundation of the concept was missing. So
I decided to develop this foundation in my Ph.D. thesis in 1992.
73 This involved
deriving Boltzmann-like and Boltzmann-Fokker-Planck equations using behavioral
assumptions.
74
These equations contain a quantity describing a systematic motion in behavioral
space, which can be interpreted as a “social force” and is often expressed as the
slope of a “social field”. This social field can be imagined like a mountain range in
behavioral space, where the steepest slope in a given location determines the social
force that a person is subject to. This social force indicates the expected size and
direction of the behavioral change. “Valleys” in the social field correspond to social
norms. If someone complies with a norm, the social force is zero, but a deviation
from the social norm will cause a social force (just as in real-life situations).
Note, however, that the “mountain range” discussed above (and its corresponding
social field) is variable in time. It changes as a result of the behavioral changes of
others. Therefore, while the social field influences the behavior of a person, at the
same time, it is modified by that person’s behavior and the behavior of others. In
other words, social norms may change over time as a result of social interactions.
References
1. A. Mazloumian, D. Helbing, S. Lozano, R. P. Light and K. Börner (2013) Global multi-level
analysis of the ‘Scientific Food Web’. Scientific Reports 3, 1167.
2. T. Kuhn, M. Perc, and D. Helbing, Inheritance patterns in citation networks reveal scientific
memes, Phys. Rev. X 4, 041036.
3. M. Schich, C. Song, Y. Y. Ahn, A. Mirsky, M. Martino, A.L. Barabási and D. Helbing, A
network framework of cultural history. Science 345, 558–562 (2014).
4. A. Mazloumian et al. (2012) Global multi-level analysis of the ‘scientific food web’, Scientific
Reports 3: 1167.
5. D. Lazer, R. Kennedy, G. King, and A. Vespignani, The parable of Google Flu: Traps in Big
Data analytics. Science 343, 1203–1205 (2014).
6. D. Brockmann, L. Hufnagel, and T. Geisel, The scaling laws of human travel, Nature 439,
462–465 (2006).
7. V. Colizza, A. Barrat, M. Barthelemy, A.-J. Valleron, and A. Vespignani, Modeling the worldwide spread of panemic influenza: Baseline case and containment interventions. PLoS Medicine
4(1): e13.
8. D. Helbing and A. Carbone (eds.) Participatory Science and Computing for Our Complex
World. EPJ Special Topics 214, 1–666 (2012).
9. M. Hechter and K.-D. Opp, Social Norms (Russell Sage Foundation, 2009).
72 Lewin [50].
73 Helbing [51]; for an English translation see Ref. 96.
74 Helbing [52].