An Agent Based Force Vector Model of Human Social Influence

The model is based on a vector representation of each agent. The components of the vector are the continuous “attributes” that determine the social behavior of the agent.  A force vector model gives the effect of each agent on all other agents.  It assumes that the force between two agents is proportional to the "similarity of attributes" given by the dot product of the vectors representing the attributes, and goes inversely as the distance in attribute space between the two vectors. The force between the agents may be positive (attractive), zero, or negative (repulsive) depending on the angle between the vectors.  A positive force causes the attributes of the agents to become more similar and the corresponding vectors to become more nearly parallel.  Interaction between all agents is allowed unless the distance between the agents exceeds a confidence limit, the Attribute Influence Bound (AIB).  Agents with similar attributes tend to form groups.  For small values of the AIB, numerous groups remain scattered in attribute space at the end of a simulation.  As the AIB is increased the few remaining groups have increasingly different characteristic attributes and approximately equal sizes. With a large AIB all agents are connected and extreme bi- or tri-polarization results.