Nonequilibrium transition induced by mass media in a model for social influence

摘要

We study the effect of mass media, modeled as an applied external field, on asocial system based on Axelrod's model for the dissemination of culture. Thenumerical simulations show that the system undergoes a nonequilibrium phasetransition between an ordered phase (homogeneous culture) specified by the massmedia and a disordered (culturally fragmented) one. The critical boundaryseparating these phases is calculated on the parameter space of the system,given by the intensity of the mass media influence and the number of optionsper cultural attribute. Counterintuitively, mass media can induce culturaldiversity when its intensity is above some threshold value. The nature of thephase transition changes from continuous to discontinuous at some criticalvalue of the number of options.