Threshold Models of Collective Behavior

Mark Granovetter

doi:10.1086/226707

May 1, 1978American Journal of SociologyOpen Access

Threshold Models of Collective Behavior

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Key Points

To formalize how individual decision thresholds generate macro-level collective actions such as riots, strikes, innovation diffusion, and voting behavior.
Mathematical modeling of decision-making where an actor joins an activity only after a specific proportion of others participate.
Analytical evaluation of frequency distributions of thresholds to track aggregate equilibrium outcomes and system stability.
Small differences in the distribution of individual thresholds produce drastically different collective equilibria, even when average individual preferences are nearly identical.
System cascades depend critically on the presence of contiguous threshold sequences (from zero upward), where the absence of a single intermediary halts group-level contagion.

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Implication

Theoretical modeling reveals how individual thresholds dictate collective outcomes in social systems, highlighting how small distributional shifts trigger massive behavioral cascades.

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Mark Granovetter (1978) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d9ab73387cf706986850a7 https://doi.org/10.1086/226707

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Threshold Models of Collective Behavior

Key Points

No abstract yet

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Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

Threshold Models of Collective Behavior

Key Points

No abstract yet

Ask about this paper

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

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