Emergence of Stereotypes and Affective Polarization from Belief Network Dynamics
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866915946817388544 |
|---|---|
| author | Seckin, Ozgur Can Aiyappa, Rachith Vlasceanu, Madalina Menczer, Filippo Flammini, Alessandro Ahn, Yong-Yeol |
| author_facet | Seckin, Ozgur Can Aiyappa, Rachith Vlasceanu, Madalina Menczer, Filippo Flammini, Alessandro Ahn, Yong-Yeol |
| contents | Our belief systems are shaped by social processes, such as observations and influence, and by cognitive processes, such as the drive for internal coherence. These processes steer how individual beliefs evolve and become connected. The resulting belief networks contain both causal and associative links, including spurious ones, such as stereotypes. Here, we develop an agent-based model of belief networks that demonstrates how two basic mechanisms -- social interaction and a drive for internal coherence -- can give rise to such stereotypes without any underlying reality. We further demonstrate how stereotypes, when coupled with shared group identity, can give rise to affective polarization, even in the absence of ideological conflicts. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_10251 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Emergence of Stereotypes and Affective Polarization from Belief Network Dynamics Seckin, Ozgur Can Aiyappa, Rachith Vlasceanu, Madalina Menczer, Filippo Flammini, Alessandro Ahn, Yong-Yeol Social and Information Networks Our belief systems are shaped by social processes, such as observations and influence, and by cognitive processes, such as the drive for internal coherence. These processes steer how individual beliefs evolve and become connected. The resulting belief networks contain both causal and associative links, including spurious ones, such as stereotypes. Here, we develop an agent-based model of belief networks that demonstrates how two basic mechanisms -- social interaction and a drive for internal coherence -- can give rise to such stereotypes without any underlying reality. We further demonstrate how stereotypes, when coupled with shared group identity, can give rise to affective polarization, even in the absence of ideological conflicts. |
| title | Emergence of Stereotypes and Affective Polarization from Belief Network Dynamics |
| topic | Social and Information Networks |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.10251 |