The Roundtable: An Agent-Based Model of Conversation Dynamics

What mechanisms drive the group size evolution of social conversations? How does schisming take place in dynamically-changing conversations? Are there any universal driving mechanisms taking place? In this work we address such questions by means of an agent-based model of conversation dynamics. The proposed model develops from simple yet realistic assumptions derived from experimental evidence, it abstracts from conversation content and semantics while including topological and simple psychological information, and it is driven by stochastic dynamics. It describes the turn-taking dynamics of an abstract Nbody conversation. We find that a single mechanism, i.e. the dynamics of individual fitness thresholds that characterize the happiness level of each participant, enables the onset of complex collective phenomena such as the self-organized schisming phenomenon. Potential generalizations of the model including individual traits and preferences, memory effects and more complex conversational topologies may find useful applications also in other fields of research, where dynamically-interacting and networked agents play a fundamental role. K eywords: ABM, soci a l si mulati on, conv ersati onal analysis , t urn-t aki ng dynami cs , schi s m Dis c la imer: al l (ps eudo)codes as w el l as N etLog o i mplementat ions ut i lized i n and deri ved from t his w ork are freely avai lable under reques t. Mastrangeli, Schmidt and Lacasa