Networks and Mechanisms of Interdependence: Theoretical Developments Beyond the Rational Action Model

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cascades
collective action
internet
social influence
threshold
Communication
Social and Behavioral Sciences
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There is interdependence when the actions of an individual influence the decisions (and later actions) of other individuals. This paper claims that social networks define the structure of that range of influence and unleash a number of mechanisms that go beyond those captured by rational action theory. Networks give access to the ideas and actions of other individuals, and this exposure determines the activation of thresholds, the timing of actions, and the emergence of contagion processes, informational cascades and epidemics. This paper sustains that rational action theory does not offer the necessary tools to model these processes if it is not inserted in a general theory of networks. This is especially the case in the context opened by new information and communication technologies, where the interdependence of individuals is acquiring greater empirical relevance.

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2009-09-01
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Revista Internacional de Sociología
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González-Bailón, S. (2009). “Networks and Mechanisms of Interdependence: Theoretical Developments Beyond the Rational Action Model. Revista Internacional de Sociología, 67(3), 537-558. doi: 10.3989/ris.2008.01.14 At the time of publication, author Sandra González-Bailón was affiliated with the Oxford Internet Institute and Nuffield College. University of Oxford. Currently (February 2016), she is a faculty member at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
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