Competition and the dynamics of group affiliation

Abstract

How can we understand the interaction between the social network topology of a population and the patterns of group affiliation in that population? Each aspect influences the other: social networks provide the conduits via which groups recruit new members and groups provide the context in which new social ties are formed. Given that the resources of individuals are finite, groups can be considered to compete with one another for the time and energy of their members. Such competition is likely to have an impact on the way in which social structure and group affiliation co-evolve. While many social simulation models exhibit group formation as a part of their behaviour (e.g., opinion clusters o..