Interplay between Selection and Social Influence
Summary
TLDRThe video script explores the complex relationship between social influence and selection using Wikipedia as a case study. It explains how Wikipedia operates as a collaborative platform and introduces the concept of similarity measures to quantify the common interests between editors. The research presented analyzes editor interactions, revealing that people with similar interests are more likely to engage in discussions, a phenomenon attributed to selection. Post-interaction, an increase in similarity suggests social influence, where shared interests grow stronger. The script challenges viewers to consider the balance between these factors in different social contexts, such as friendships formed over good or bad habits.
Takeaways
- š The script discusses the complex interplay between social influence and selection, particularly in the context of online interactions on Wikipedia.
- š Wikipedia is described as a collaborative platform where anyone can edit entries, leading to a convergence of ideas and the emergence of 'true knowledge' through discussion and debate.
- š£ļø The 'user talk page' on Wikipedia serves as a space for editors to discuss and resolve conflicts, which is a visible record of social interaction for research purposes.
- š The concept of a 'similarity measure' is introduced to quantify how alike two individuals are based on shared interests or activities, such as editing the same Wikipedia pages.
- š A research study is highlighted that uses Wikipedia's editing data to analyze the relationship between social influence and selection, showing how these factors change before and after interaction.
- š The script explains that before individuals interact on Wikipedia, there is often a high degree of similarity, which may prompt the interaction (selection).
- š¤ After interaction, there is an observed increase in similarity, suggesting that social influence plays a role in shaping shared interests and behaviors post-interaction.
- š The research plot presented shows an average trend where people become more similar before they interact and continue to become more similar afterward, indicating both selection and social influence at play.
- š The script points out that the observed patterns may be context-dependent, suggesting that different datasets could reveal varying degrees of social influence versus selection.
- š¤ It raises the question of which factor, social influence or selection, is more prevalent in society and how this balance might differ across various contexts, such as the adoption of good or bad habits.
- š The importance of having diverse datasets to explore these questions further is emphasized, opening up new avenues for research into social dynamics.
Q & A
What is the main topic discussed in the video script?
-The main topic discussed in the video script is the difference between social influence and selection, and how these concepts can be studied using data from Wikipedia.
How does Wikipedia work according to the script?
-Wikipedia works as a collaborative platform where anyone can edit and contribute to its content. It is a blank slate where information can be added, edited, or corrected by anyone, with the idea that through discussion and debate, true knowledge emerges.
What is a 'user talk page' on Wikipedia?
-A 'user talk page' on Wikipedia is a space where users can discuss and debate about the content of Wikipedia articles. It is a visible platform for all users to see the background discussions that happen during the editing process.
What is a similarity measure and how is it defined in the script?
-A similarity measure is a way to quantify how alike two entities are based on certain characteristics. In the script, it is defined as the ratio of the number of common items liked by two individuals to the total number of unique items liked by both.
How is the similarity measure applied to the Wikipedia dataset in the research?
-The similarity measure is applied to the Wikipedia dataset by comparing the editing activities of two authors. It is calculated as the number of Wikipedia pages both authors have edited divided by the total number of unique pages they have edited together.
What does the research aim to understand using the Wikipedia dataset and similarity measure?
-The research aims to understand the interplay between social influence and selection. It seeks to determine whether people become similar before they interact (selection) or whether their interaction leads to increased similarity (social influence).
What does the plot in the script represent?
-The plot in the script represents the changes in the similarity measure between two individuals over time, specifically before and after they first interacted on the Wikipedia talk page.
What does the steep increase in the similarity measure before the first interaction suggest?
-The steep increase in the similarity measure before the first interaction suggests that the individuals were becoming more similar over time, which may have led them to interact with each other (selection).
What does the further increase in similarity measure after the first interaction suggest?
-The further increase in the similarity measure after the first interaction suggests that the interaction itself led to even more similarity between the individuals, indicating the effect of social influence.
How does the research differentiate between social influence and selection?
-The research differentiates between social influence and selection by observing the changes in similarity measure before and after interactions. If similarity increases before interaction, it suggests selection; if it increases after, it suggests social influence.
What is the conclusion drawn from the research about the interplay of social influence and selection?
-The conclusion drawn from the research is that both social influence and selection are at play, with selection seemingly having a stronger effect initially, followed by social influence after the first interaction.
How does the script suggest that the findings may be context-dependent?
-The script suggests that the findings may be context-dependent by comparing the Wikipedia dataset with other potential datasets, such as those related to smoking or obesity, where the balance between social influence and selection might be different.
Outlines
š Exploring Social Influence and Selection Through Wikipedia
This paragraph introduces the central research question: distinguishing between social influence and selection. It highlights the challenge of identifying these phenomena in real-world data sets of friendships. The speaker proposes using Wikipedia as a unique data set to study these concepts due to its collaborative nature, where multiple users edit and debate content. The paragraph also emphasizes the importance of understanding Wikipedia's operation and the concept of a similarity measure as prerequisites for the research.
š Understanding Wikipedia's Collaborative Editing Process
The speaker elaborates on how Wikipedia functions as a collaborative platform where anyone can edit content, leading to the emergence of true knowledge through discussion and debate. Despite the potential for misinformation, the collective effort of the community is trusted to converge towards accurate information. The paragraph also introduces the concept of 'user talk pages' where editors discuss content, providing a rich data set for research on social influence and selection.
š Measuring Similarity in Wikipedia Editing Behavior
The paragraph explains the concept of a similarity measure using an analogy of shared food preferences. It then applies this concept to Wikipedia editing, where the similarity between two editors is determined by the number of pages they have both edited, relative to the total number of unique pages they have edited. This measure provides a quantitative way to assess the alignment of interests between editors, which is crucial for the study of social influence and selection.
š Analyzing the Dynamics of Social Interaction on Wikipedia
The speaker describes a research method that involves tracking the interactions between two Wikipedia editors over time. By plotting the similarity measure before and after their first conversation on the talk page, the research aims to observe changes in their interests. The paragraph discusses the potential for a steep increase in similarity both before and after interaction, suggesting a complex interplay between social influence and selection in the formation and development of online relationships.
š¤ The Interplay of Selection and Social Influence in Online Communities
This paragraph delves into the implications of the research findings, suggesting that there is a significant degree of self-selection in social interactions on Wikipedia, where similar interests lead to communication. After interaction, there is a further increase in similarity, indicating social influence. The speaker also points out the importance of considering the context of different data sets, as the balance between selection and social influence may vary. The paragraph concludes by posing broader questions about the prevalence of these phenomena in society and the potential for further research.
Mindmap
Keywords
š”Social Influence
š”Selection
š”Similarity Measure
š”Wikipedia
š”User Talk Pages
š”Data Set
š”Plot
š”Context-dependent
š”Obesity Research
š”Friendship Formation
Highlights
Introduction to the core question: the difference between social influence and selection.
Explanation of the challenge in distinguishing between social influence and selection in real-world datasets.
Overview of Wikipedia as a collaborative platform where anyone can edit, leading to discussions and debates that improve content accuracy.
Definition of similarity measure using an intuitive example involving food preferences.
Application of the similarity measure concept to Wikipedia editors by comparing the number of articles two people edit together.
Research method: tracking the interactions between Wikipedia editors to analyze how similarity influences their conversations.
Discovery that people tend to become more similar before they talk, and continue becoming similar after interaction.
Key finding: people select each other to talk when they are already similar, and this similarity increases further through social influence.
The relationship between the steepness of similarity curves and the phases of selection and social influence.
Conclusion that selection plays a larger role initially, while social influence takes over after interaction.
Importance of the observed trend in Wikipedia data and its applicability to understanding broader social dynamics.
Critical reflection on the dataset: this finding may be specific to Wikipedia and not universally applicable.
Comparison to other contexts like smoking habits, where social influence may outweigh selection.
Obesity research is mentioned as an example where social influence has a stronger role than selection.
Final observation: the interplay between selection and social influence is context-dependent and varies across different societal behaviors.
Transcripts
So, we saw the big question what is the differenceĀ between social influence and selection. Which oneĀ Ā
of the two is happening are both happening nowĀ itās very difficult to for us to go head andĀ Ā
look at the real world data set of friendshipsĀ and ask this question if we ask this questionĀ Ā
of can we have some very concrete data set whereĀ this experiment can actually be conducted and theĀ Ā
facts be unravelled there was one such data setĀ which gave some very promising observations. So,Ā Ā
our motive for thisvideo chunk is to understandĀ this piece of research on Wikipedia ok. Ā
Let me now motivate theconcept by by explaininghowĀ Wikipedia works. Number one and number two byĀ Ā
explaining what one means by similarity measureĀ these two are important for us to goany furtherĀ Ā
ok. So, how does Wikipedia work? WikipediaĀ basically is a blank slate you can basicallyĀ Ā
anyone can go write anything on Wikipedia forĀ example you can open the Wikipedia entry ofĀ Ā
India edit it if you think some information isĀ incorrect there delete it and the right contentĀ Ā
that you think is right and if someone else thingsĀ what you have entered is wrong they will come andĀ Ā
edit it and change it to what they think is rightĀ this goes on and on one frequently asked questionĀ Ā
is can we really trusts such a database whereĀ anyone can come and enter anythingyeah veryĀ Ā
intriguing but it is known to be true that whenlotĀ of people get together and start discussing andĀ Ā
debating when they have conflicts of theirĀ ideas true knowledge is known to emerge . Ā
Initially of course there will be some falseĀ information here and there but a lot of peopleĀ Ā
watching it will converge to the right answer.Ā So, Wikipedia is actually believed to be veryĀ Ā
trustworthy these days thatās about Wikipedia butĀ what happens in the background of Wikipedia thereĀ Ā
are many people who will be coming and editingĀ it if there is conflicts on theirbelief of whatĀ Ā
should be put and what should not be put theyĀ talk in the background with each other and theĀ Ā
background talking is also visible for allĀ of us there are calleduser talk page one canĀ Ā
click on this tab and then take a look at whatĀ all discussions they have about the content. Ā
Now this big data set is available to our disposalĀ and one can conduct any kind of research on thisĀ Ā
data set I am now going to explain one suchĀ research which actually helped us understand theĀ Ā
inter play between social influence and selectionĀ as I told you just now I helped you understand howĀ Ā
Wikipedia works that was the first prerequisiteĀ the second prerequisite is understanding whatĀ Ā
one means by a similarity measure. So, let meĀ motivate what is the similarity measure now. So,Ā Ā
let me define what is the similarityĀ measure it is actually quite intuitiveĀ Ā
let me motivate it with a good example. Assume I like the followingdishes ok I likeĀ Ā
upmaletās say idlidosa, pizza and letās sayĀ fruit punch these are the five things thatĀ Ā
I like ok upma idli all those things are southĀ Indian dishes and letās say my friend Priya sheĀ Ā
likespizza burgerletās say pasta and idli ok theseĀ four things as you can see we donāt have a lot ofĀ Ā
commonalities but we have we like pizza and idliĀ that is common between both of us. So, what I doĀ Ā
is in the denominator I put the total number ofĀ items that we like whatever I like and whateverĀ Ā
Priya likes both put together as you can see isĀ seven items out of which we both like two items. Ā
So, I say the similarity measure between me andĀ Priya is two by seven this is what we mean byĀ Ā
similarity measures now I am going to use thisĀ on my Wikipedia data set that I was telling youĀ Ā
right. So, what do I do there are two peopleĀ two authors who are editing Wikipedia pagesĀ Ā
randomly here and there letās say I am editingtheĀ Wikipedia entry of India andletās say ChennaiĀ Ā
floodsand Wikipedia entry on iPhone eight andĀ things like that different Wikipediapages I amĀ Ā
editing and a friend of mine letās say peter isĀ editing Wikipedia pages again some some otherĀ Ā
Wikipedia pages some ten other Wikipedia pages. The similarity measure between me and Peter is theĀ Ā
total number of Wikipedia pages that we both areĀ editing, total number of unique Wikipedia pagesĀ Ā
that we both are editing. In the denominator andĀ in the numerator we write those Wikipedia pages weĀ Ā
both have edited just like the similarity measureĀ that I defined between me and Priya the similarityĀ Ā
measure between me and peter on Wikipedia isĀ total number of Wikipedia articles that weĀ Ā
both have edited in the numerator divided by theĀ total possible unique Wikipedia pages that we haveĀ Ā
edited both put together thatās in the denominatorĀ this gives a good measure of howsimilar weĀ Ā
both are on ourWikipedia editingtransactions. So now that you understand what ishow WikipediaĀ Ā
works and you also understand the definition ofĀ similarity measure I am going to use these twoĀ Ā
things in answering the big question of socialĀ influence versus selection ok. So, here it goesĀ Ā
I will do the following I will look at two peopleĀ who have spoken to each other on Wikipedia I toldĀ Ā
you people do talk in the talk pages in theĀ background if I observe that two people haveĀ Ā
spoken to each other please note I have a data setĀ here in that data set I observe if two people haveĀ Ā
spoken to each other if letās say two peopleI willĀ say Rama and prem have spoken to each other on theĀ Ā
wiki talk page then what I do is I plot thisĀ what is the plot the plot is the following. Ā
This is my y axis this is my x axis. I will seeĀ when exactly they spoke let me call that timeĀ Ā
t equal zero and I will observe what were theyĀ doing before and what were they doing what didĀ Ā
they do after this time equal zero. What do IĀ mean by that? Let me define what is the x andĀ Ā
y axis properly on the y axis I will putI will IĀ will put thesimilar their similarity measure okĀ Ā
their similarity measure is given by letās sayĀ point zero zero five point zero one zero. So,Ā Ā
on and. So, four point zero one five. So,Ā on up to letās say point zero zerozeroĀ Ā
four zero ok I am doing this on the y axis This is my similarity and this is my time IĀ Ā
repeat rama and prem have started editing someĀ Wikipedia articles and their similarity measure IĀ Ā
am seeing when they first spoke this line denotesĀ the time when they first spoke by spoke letās beĀ Ā
clear I mean first time they spoke first timeĀ they spoke on the talk page on the talk page andĀ Ā
I observe what was their similarity measure beforeĀ and what is their similarity measure after it wasĀ Ā
observed that the plot looks something like thisĀ it looks like this let me correct this it justĀ Ā
goes steep it just goes like this thatās it. Point to note is the is the steep increase andĀ Ā
further increase and then it it it becomes sort ofĀ constant what is happening here letās just pauseĀ Ā
and observe lets revise time similarly measureĀ rama and prem there similarity measure was. So,Ā Ā
this is time when they started letās say someĀ few days before and the first time, they metĀ Ā
this probably some minus something minushundredĀ minus two hundred or whatever is the scale ok. Ā
And the time when they first met and thentime tĀ equals hundred and then two hundred and then threeĀ Ā
hundred. So, on whatever you want two hundredĀ minutes or two hundred seconds or you can you canĀ Ā
have any scale here but these are time when theyĀ first spoke to each other did you see somethingĀ Ā
happened here something really fascinating whatĀ is the curve tell you the curve tells you thatĀ Ā
before they first spoke to each other there wasĀ a sudden surge of similarity between them theseĀ Ā
two people were very similar because of whichĀ they spoke maybe because of which they had aĀ Ā
talk on the spoke on the talk page maybe do youĀ see after they spoke there was increase in theirĀ Ā
similarity measurewhat does this translateĀ this translates the following because thatĀ Ā
their interest were common thatās what similarityĀ measure means because that their similarity theirĀ Ā
similarity was high their interest were commonĀ they actually spoke to each other after speakingĀ Ā
there was further increase in their similarity. This translates the following two people becomeĀ Ā
friends if they agree on a lot of letās saydishesĀ in my previous example of me and Priya maybe if weĀ Ā
have two by seven similarity we may not becomeĀ friends if we agree on a lot of food interestĀ Ā
maybe will become friends. I donāt know whether ifĀ this is true or not but assume that people becomeĀ Ā
friends because they have a lot of common foodĀ interest what will happen after we become friendsĀ Ā
once we become friends we tend to have all theĀ more common food interest you probably will hangĀ Ā
out together and eat more often the same kinds ofĀ dishes give each other at our testimonials of thisĀ Ā
kind of food in this kind of place and we may wantĀ to try these things in each otherās presence. Ā
So the fact that we are similar makes us talk theĀ fact that we have spoken right now makes us becomeĀ Ā
all the more similar fine this plot was givenĀ to you forreasons ofbetter explaining things toĀ Ā
you but but the fact here is if you look at theĀ text book this plot is the plot of the averageĀ Ā
by average I mean they have looked at all possibleĀ people who have actually spoken and they observedĀ Ā
what was their similarity measure measure beforeĀ and what was their similarity measure after thisĀ Ā
is the average plot that you seeah in the textĀ book which says that on an average people tendĀ Ā
to become more similar and then talk and thenĀ become all the more similar not just this. Ā
This this whatās coming next is what makesĀ the research all the more interesting theyĀ Ā
observed. I repeat on an average people becomeĀ similar people because this is average I toldĀ Ā
you this is average taken over all let me writeĀ that down average taken over all possible pairsĀ Ā
of wiki editors who spoke to each other sorry whoĀ spoke to each other and we observed that that whenĀ Ā
they speak at this time there is sudden increaseĀ in their similarity measure before speaking andĀ Ā
after speaking this is the average curve ok. mega inference that one can make here is thatĀ Ā
this is steeper than this now thatās thatāsĀ thatās the climax point in the piece ofĀ Ā
research this is steeper than this let meĀ write that this is steeper as compared toĀ Ā
this this is more steeper than this what doesĀ that mean that means that you become very veryĀ Ā
similar and then you talk and then you continueĀ to become better and better similar right. So,Ā Ā
what is this and what is the take a minutesĀ pause and observe. What is this and what isĀ Ā
this in our language that we are motivatingĀ from the past few minutes which one is socialĀ Ā
influence and which one is selection when do weĀ select we select when people are similar. So,Ā Ā
I am sure you would have figured out theĀ answer right now two people select eachĀ Ā
other to talk when they are similar this isĀ selection here happening on this part of theĀ Ā
vertical t equals zero line selection andĀ on this part once they spoken to each otherĀ Ā
maybe they will share more common interest andĀ they will started eating pages together thatāsĀ Ā
what is happened thatās what this means thereĀ is steep increase in the curve here as wellĀ Ā
and this is going to be our social influence . So we just now sawthe plot and we observed theĀ Ā
interplay between selection andsocial influenceĀ on a particular type of data set now letās getĀ Ā
a little critical and ask this question fineĀ the plot is very clear it says thatinitiallyĀ Ā
there is a lot of selection happening here andĀ then social influences also happening selectionĀ Ā
seems to be more in play than social influenceĀ while both actually happening that is with thisĀ Ā
dataset maybe this kind of an observation isĀ very context dependent dataset dependent. Ā
Now instead of taking Wikipedia datasetĀ if I were to take some other data set,Ā Ā
letās say the way smokers become friends with eachĀ other maybe there is a lot of social influenceĀ Ā
factor there the unselection factor correct andĀ in fact obesity research says otherwise whateverĀ Ā
we saw here itās the reverse of that here thereĀ is more selection than social influence while inĀ Ā
the obesity research what we inferred was whatĀ we inferred was there is more social influenceĀ Ā
than selection this is a this is a very contextĀ dependent observation the people have made in factĀ Ā
thisthis opens up brand new questions namely whatĀ is which is more in play in the society right. So,Ā Ā
be it withfor bad habitās is itmore of socialĀ influence than selection for good habitās is itĀ Ā
selection and less of social influence one canĀ ask ask many such questions and thankfully weĀ Ā
do have some datasets on which we can experimentĀ this questionsand and then find our answers.
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