How Behavior Spreads: The Science of Complex Contagions (Princeton Analytical Sociology Series) - Hardcover

Centola, Damon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691175314 ISBN 13: 9780691175317

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2018

Synopsis

A new, counterintuitive theory for how social networks influence the spread of behavior

New social movements, technologies, and public-health initiatives often struggle to take off, yet many diseases disperse rapidly without issue. Can the lessons learned from the viral diffusion of diseases be used to improve the spread of beneficial behaviors and innovations? In How Behavior Spreads, Damon Centola presents over a decade of original research examining how changes in societal behavior--in voting, health, technology, and finance―occur and the ways social networks can be used to influence how they propagate. Centola's startling findings show that the same conditions accelerating the viral expansion of an epidemic unexpectedly inhibit the spread of behaviors.

While it is commonly believed that "weak ties"―long-distance connections linking acquaintances―lead to the quicker spread of behaviors, in fact the exact opposite holds true. Centola demonstrates how the most well-known, intuitive ideas about social networks have caused past diffusion efforts to fail, and how such efforts might succeed in the future. Pioneering the use of Web-based methods to understand how changes in people's social networks alter their behaviors, Centola illustrates the ways in which these insights can be applied to solve countless problems of organizational change, cultural evolution, and social innovation. His findings offer important lessons for public health workers, entrepreneurs, and activists looking to harness networks for social change.

Practical and informative, How Behavior Spreads is a must-read for anyone interested in how the theory of social networks can transform our world.

About this title

From the Back Cover

“This book is extraordinary. While theorists expect behaviors to spread across networks more effectively through weak ties than strong ones, Centola shows otherwise. He not only makes a convincing case that ‘complex contagions’ are different but also traces the implications into real-world contexts, such as efforts to improve public health. The ideas in this book are original, profound, and thought provoking, and the writing is clear, lively, and accessible. How Behavior Spreads is at once a terrific introduction to the study of diffusion and a powerful yet constructive challenge to some of its most cherished assumptions.”—Mario Luis Small, Harvard University

“How Behavior Spreads offers important new insights for those committed to improving the health of populations by promoting healthy behaviors. Centola articulates a compelling theoretical framework, backed by experimental evidence, for how behaviors and ideas spread in networks. The armamentarium for health professionals has just expanded.”—Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, University of Pennsylvania

About the Author

Damon Centola is an associate professor in the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is director of the Network Dynamics Group.

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0691175314
• ISBN 13: 9780691175317
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 312