Comparing Similarity and Homophily-Based Cognitive Models of Influence and Conformity
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Abstract
The majority of theories and models of social influence tend to focus on the social-behavioral level and implicitly discount the potential role of cognitive explanations to ground out social phenomena in cognitive operations. The present study describes a preliminary simulation of social influence and conformity using two possible cognitive mechanisms: the first a homophily-based model that weighs belief updating based on generating a latent trust magnitude, and the second is a novel similarity-learning mechanism that weighs memory retrieval via similarity. While the homophily model was able to capture both influence and conformity effects based on degree of initial strength in the belief and crystallization of the belief, the similarity-based model always conformed. Both models exhibited initial learning and larger belief updating while settling to a relatively-stable state over time. Future implications for modeling influence via cognitive factors are discussed.