Influentials, Networks, and Public Opinion Formation
Top Cited Papers
- 1 December 2007
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Consumer Research
- Vol. 34 (4), 441-458
- https://doi.org/10.1086/518527
Abstract
A central idea in marketing and diffusion research is that influentials—a minority of individuals who influence an exceptional number of their peers—are important to the formation of public opinion. Here we examine this idea, which we call the “influentials hypothesis,” using a series of computer simulations of interpersonal influence processes. Under most conditions that we consider, we find that large cascades of influence are driven not by influentials but by a critical mass of easily influenced individuals. Although our results do not exclude the possibility that influentials can be important, they suggest that the influentials hypothesis requires more careful specification and testing than it has received.Keywords
This publication has 71 references indexed in Scilit:
- Equilibrium Concepts for Social Interaction ModelsInternational Game Theory Review, 2003
- Learning from the Behavior of Others: Conformity, Fads, and Informational CascadesJournal of Economic Perspectives, 1998
- Culture and conformity: A meta-analysis of studies using Asch's (1952b, 1956) line judgment task.Psychological Bulletin, 1996
- A Theory of ConformityJournal of Political Economy, 1994
- A Theory of Fads, Fashion, Custom, and Cultural Change as Informational CascadesJournal of Political Economy, 1992
- A Simple Model of Herd BehaviorThe Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1992
- A historical account of the hypodermic model in mass communicationCommunication Monographs, 1988
- The Duality of Persons and GroupsSocial Forces, 1974
- A New Product Growth for Model Consumer DurablesManagement Science, 1969
- Role of Product-Related Conversations in the Diffusion of a New ProductJournal of Marketing Research, 1967