Homophily and minority-group size explain perception biases in social networks
Homophily and minority-group size explain perception biases in social networks
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DOI：
10.1038/s41562-019-0677-4
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发表时间：
2019-10-01
影响因子：
29.9
通讯作者：
Galesic, Mirta
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lee, Eun;Karimi, Fariba;Galesic, Mirta
人们对社交网络中少数群体规模的认知可能存在偏差，往往会出现系统性的高估或低估。这些社会认知偏差通常归因于有偏差的认知或动机过程。在此我们表明，对少数群体规模的高估和低估都可能仅仅源于社交网络的结构特性。利用一个生成网络模型，我们表明这些偏差取决于同质性水平、其不对称性质以及少数群体的规模。我们的模型预测与一项跨文化调查的实证数据以及六个现实世界网络的数值计算非常吻合。我们还确定了在哪些情况下个人可以通过依赖对其邻居的认知来减少自身的偏差。这项工作增进了我们对网络结构对社会认知偏差影响的理解，并为解决社会中的相关问题提供了一种定量方法。
People's perceptions about the size of minority groups in social networks can be biased, often showing systematic over- or underestimation. These social perception biases are often attributed to biased cognitive or motivational processes. Here we show that both over- and underestimation of the size of a minority group can emerge solely from structural properties of social networks. Using a generative network model, we show that these biases depend on the level of homophily, its asymmetric nature and on the size of the minority group. Our model predictions correspond well with empirical data from a cross-cultural survey and with numerical calculations from six real-world networks. We also identify circumstances under which individuals can reduce their biases by relying on perceptions of their neighbours. This work advances our understanding of the impact of network structure on social perception biases and offers a quantitative approach for addressing related issues in society.