Contagion is a process whereby the collapse of a node in a network leads to the collapse of neighboring nodes and thereby sets off a chain reaction in the network. It thereby creates a special type of time-dependent network. Such processes are studied in various applications, e.g., in financial network analysis, infection diffusion prediction, supply chain management or gene regulation. Visual ...

We examine how firms can create word-of-mouth peer influence and social contagion by designing viral features into their products and marketing campaigns. Word-of-mouth (WOM) is generally considered to be more effective at promoting product contagion when it is personalized and active. Unfortunately, the relative effectiveness of different viral features has not been quantified, nor has their e...

In this review, we explore social contagion as an understudied risk factor for non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) among adolescents and young adults, populations with a high prevalence of NSSI. We review empirical studies reporting data on prevalence and risk factors that, through social contagion, may influence the transmission of NSSI. Findings in this literature are consistent with social model...

Social influence can lead to behavioural 'fads' that are briefly popular and quickly die out. Various models have been proposed for these phenomena, but empirical evidence of their accuracy as real-world predictive tools has so far been absent. Here we find that a 'complex contagion' model accurately describes the spread of behaviours driven by online sharing. We found that standard, 'simple', ...

The present study had the goal to assess whether individuals mimic and show emotional contagion in response to relatively weak and idiosyncratic dynamic facial expressions of emotions similar to those encountered in everyday life. Furthermore, the question of whether mimicry leads to emotional contagion and in turn facilitates emotion recognition was addressed. Forty-one female participants rat...

From a policy standpoint, the spread of health conditions in social networks is important to quantify, because it implies externalities and possible market failures in the consumption of health interventions. Recent studies conclude that happiness and depression may be highly contagious across social ties. The results may be biased, however, because of selection and common shocks. We provide un...

We propose a method for defining and measuring the spatial contagion between two financial markets. Next we investigate which from the large family of multivariate GARCH models is the best tool for modeling spatial contagion.

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals has proven to be a real challenge. Providing evidence on cost-effective interventions did not prove to be sufficient to secure the trust of national authorities, health care providers and patients. Introducing change in a health system requires a good understanding of the relationships between the actors of the system. Social network analysis can provi...