Project info
Work package
- Synthesis
Sustainability threat
- Spillovers
Challenge
- Identity flexibility and sustainable cooperation
Study info
Related studies according to other researchers
Socially situating NormAN: Standpoints and epistemic diversity in a Bayesian, agent-based model.
Description of Study
Diffusion studies investigate the propagation of behavior, attitudes or beliefs across a networked population. Some sustainable behavior is binary, e.g. whether or not to purchase green energy, while others are more continuous, e.g., wastefulness with plastic. Similarly, attitudes and beliefs often allow nuance, but can become practically dichotomous in polarized environments. We argue that this basic property of behavior and attitudes - whether they are dichotomous or continuous – can critically affect whether a population becomes homogenous in its adoption of that behavior. Specifically, binary behavior allows local convergence on a deviant outcome, as multiple states can be local majorities, while continuous behavior becomes uniform across the network through a logic of communicating vessels. We present a basic model representing our argument and report on a laboratory experiment that tests it. Results show that if in a networked group adjacent persons receive deviant and wrong information, also referred to as a local majority of deviant information in this paper, participants are indeed less likely to make correct final investments . This effect is significant in the binary decision and diffusion process, but not in the continuous decision process. However, there is no statistical difference between the two decision processes, which does not allow us to claim that across various network structures, local majorities are more problematic for the adoption of binary behavior than continuous behavior.
Study research question
Does the basic property of behavior and attitudes - whether they are dichotomous or continuous – critically affect whether a population becomes homogenous in its adoption of that behavior. Specifically do binary behavior allow local convergence on a deviant outcome, as multiple states can be local majorities, while continuous behavior becomes uniform across the network through a logic of communicating vessels?
Collection provenance
- Collected during project
- -
Collection methods
- Experiment
Personal data
No
External Source
Source description
ELse Lab Utrecht
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File formats
- z-tree files and stata
Data types
- Structured
Languages
- English
Coverage start
Coverage end
05/10/2020
19/10/2021
Spatial coverage
Utrecht the Netherlands
Collection period start
05/10/2020
Collection period end
19/10/2021
Variables
Unit
Unit description
Sample size
Sampling method
Individuals
ELSE lab participants
222
ELSE lab participants
Hypothesis
Theory
In networks in which a local majority receives the deviant information, less fewer people will choose the correct vase in the end than in networks in which there is not a local majority that receives the deviant information .
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H2: The continuous scenario leads to a larger proportion of persons choosing the correct vase in the end than the binary scenario.
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H3: The difference between the binary and continuous scenario is larger if a local majority receives the deviant information.
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H4: The effect of the local majority receiving the deviant balls is larger in network 2 than in the other three networks due to clustering
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Variable type
Variable name
Variable description
Dependent variable
Invest
To see if participants playing the Investment game did indeed invest into the right choice the dependent variable Invest is crucial
Independent variable
Treatments
To compare the continuous vs the Binary decision process we have two treatments
Independent variable
Network
To compare the diffusion across 4 networks that vary in density and clustering we have this variable
Discipline-specific operationalizations
Conflict of interest
No
Data packages
Raw data
Data package DOI
—
Description
Raw data
Accessibility
Closed Access
Repository
User license
Retention period
10
Documents
Filename
Description
Date
Ethics
Ethical assessment
Yes
Ethical committee
Utrecht University Faculty of Social Sciences ethical committee