Current Search: Matthew Jarman (x)
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Title
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The Critical Few: Anticonformists at the Crossroads of Minority Opinion Survival and Collapse.
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Creator
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Matthew Jarman, Andrzej Nowak, Wojciech Borkowski, David Serfass, Alexander Wong, Robin Vallacher
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Abstract/Description
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To maintain stability yet retain the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances, social systems must strike a balance between the maintenance of a shared reality and the survival of minority opinion. A computational model is presented that investigates the interplay of two basic, oppositional social processes— conformity and anticonformity—in promoting the emergence of this balance. Computer simulations employing a cellular automata platform tested hypotheses concerning the survival of...
Show moreTo maintain stability yet retain the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances, social systems must strike a balance between the maintenance of a shared reality and the survival of minority opinion. A computational model is presented that investigates the interplay of two basic, oppositional social processes— conformity and anticonformity—in promoting the emergence of this balance. Computer simulations employing a cellular automata platform tested hypotheses concerning the survival of minority opinion and the maintenance of system stability for different proportions of anticonformity. Results revealed that a relatively small proportion of anticonformists facilitated the survival of a minority opinion held by a larger number of conformists who would otherwise succumb to pressures for social consensus. Beyond a critical threshold, however, increased proportions of anticonformists undermined social stability. Understanding the adaptive benefits of balanced oppositional forces has implications for optimal functioning in psychological and social processes in general.
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Date Issued
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2015
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FAUIR000485
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Format
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Document (PDF)
