Related papers: Phase transition to two-peaks phase in an informat…

We study cascades under the threshold model on sparse random graphs with community structure. In this model, individuals adopt the new behavior based on how many neighbors have already chosen it. Specifically, we consider the permanent…

Observational learning often involves congestion: an agent gets lower payoff from an action when more predecessors have taken that action. This preference to act differently from previous agents may paradoxically increase all but one…

This paper studies the sample-efficiency of learning in Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDPs), a challenging problem in reinforcement learning that is known to be exponentially hard in the worst-case. Motivated by…

Consider n individuals who, by popular vote, choose among q >= 2 alternatives, one of which is "better" than the others. Assume that each individual votes independently at random, and that the probability of voting for the better…

In a physical system, changing parameters such as temperature can induce a phase transition: an abrupt change from one state of matter to another. Analogous phenomena have recently been observed in large language models. Typically, the task…

The transition between low and high density phases is a typical feature of systems with social interactions. This contribution focuses on simple evacuation design of one room with one entrance and one exit; four passing-through experiments…

We study the problem of fair sequential decision making given voter preferences. In each round, a decision rule must choose a decision from a set of alternatives where each voter reports which of these alternatives they approve. Instead of…

Social fragmentation transition is a transition of social states between many disconnected communities with distinct opinions and a well-connected single network with homogeneous opinions. This is a timely research topic with high relevance…

The order-disorder phase transition is a fascinating phenomenon in opinion dynamics models within sociophysics. This transition emerges due to noise parameters, interpreted as social behaviors such as anticonformity and independence…

We analyze a sequential decision making model in which decision makers (or, players) take their decisions based on their own private information as well as the actions of previous decision makers. Such decision making processes often lead…

According to mass media theory, the dissemination of messages and the evolution of opinions in social networks follow a two-step process. First, opinion leaders receive the message from the message sources, and then they transmit their…

Proponents of participatory democracy praise Liquid Democracy: decisions are taken by referendum, but voters delegate their votes freely. When better informed voters are present, delegation can increase the probability of a correct…

We provide a novel analysis of Wald's sequential probability ratio test based on information theoretic measures for symmetric thresholds, symmetric noise, and equally likely hypotheses under the assumption that the test exactly terminates…

We analyze phase transitions in the conditional entropy of a sequence caused by a change in the conditional variables. Such transitions happen, for example, when training to learn the parameters of a system, since the transition from the…

We study a two-alternative voting game where voters' preferences depend on an unobservable world state and each voter receives a private signal correlated to the true world state. We consider the collective decision when voters can…

For the voter model, we study the effect of a memory-dependent transition rate. We assume that the transition of a spin into the opposite state decreases with the time it has been in its current state. Counter-intuitively, we find that the…

It is well known that sequential decision making may lead to information cascades. That is, when agents make decisions based on their private information, as well as observing the actions of those before them, then it might be rational to…

The paper considers the problem of finding the number of dominant voters in two-level voting procedures. At the first stage, voting is conducted among local groups of voters, and at the second stage, the results are aggregated to form a…

We study a variant of the voter model with multiple opinions; individuals can imitate each other and also change their opinion randomly in mutation events. We focus on the case of a population with all-to-all interaction. A noise-driven…

Cohesion plays a crucial role in achieving collective goals, promoting cooperation and trust, and improving efficiency within social groups. To gain deeper insights into the dynamics of group cohesion, we have extended our previous model of…