Information feedback and mass media effects in cultural
dynamics
Autores: J.C. González-Avella, M.G. Cosenza, K. Klemm, V. M. Eguíluz,
M. San Miguel
Referencia:
Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, 10, 9, (2007)
Abstract
We study the effects of different forms of information
feedback associated with mass media on an agent-agent
based model of the dynamics of cultural dissemination.
Two mechanisms of information feedback are investigated:
(i) direct mass media influence, where local or global
mass media act as an additional element in the network
of interactions of each agent, and (ii) indirect mass
media influence, where global media acts as a filter of
the influence of the existing network of interactions of
each agent. Our results substantiate previous findings
showing that cultural diversity builds-up by increasing
the strength of the mass media influence. We find that
this occurs independently of the mechanisms of action
(direct or indirect) of the mass media message. However,
through an analysis of the full range of parameters
measuring cultural diversity, we establish that the
enhancement of cultural diversity produced by interaction
with mass media only occurs for strong enough mass media
messages. A main different result is that weak mass media
messages, in combination with agent-agent interaction, are
efficient in producing cultural homogeneity. Moreover, the
homogenizing effect of weak mass media messages are more
efficient for direct local mass media messages than for
global mass media messages or indirect global mass media
influences
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