PLoS ONE (Jan 2023)

A hypernetwork-based urn model for explaining collective dynamics.

  • Jiali Lu,
  • Haifeng Du,
  • Xiaochen He

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291778
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 9
p. e0291778

Abstract

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The topological characterization of complex systems has significantly contributed to our understanding of the principles of collective dynamics. However, the representation of general complex networks is not enough for explaining certain problems, such as collective actions. Considering the effectiveness of hypernetworks on modeling real-world complex networks, in this paper, we proposed a hypernetwork-based Pólya urn model that considers the effect of group identity. The mathematical deduction and simulation experiments show that social influence provides a strong imitation environment for individuals, which can prevent the dynamics from being self-correcting. Additionally, the unpredictability of the social system increases with growing social influence, and the effect of group identity can moderate market inequality caused by individual preference and social influence. The present work provides a modeling basis for a better understanding of the logic of collective dynamics.