Projects & Publications
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Analysis and Refinement of a Temporal-Causal Network Model for Absorption of Emotions
Eric F. M. Araujo, Jan Treur
ICCCI 2016
An earlier proposed temporal-causal network model for mutual absorption of emotions aims to model emotion contagion in networks using characteristics such as traits of openness and expressiveness of the members of the network, and the strengths of the connections between them. The speed factors describing how fast emotional states change, were modeled based on these characteristics according to a fixed dependence relation. In this paper, particular implications of this choice are analyzed. Based on this analysis, a refinement of the model is proposed, offering alternative ways of modeling speed factors. This refinement is also analyzed and evaluated.
Social Connection Dynamics in a Health Promotion Network
Eric Fernandes de Mello Araújo and Michel Klein and Aart van Halteren
Complex Networks 2016
The influence of social connections on human behaviour has been demonstrated in many occasions. This paper presents the analysis of the dynamic properties of longitudinal (335 days) community data (n=3,375 participants) from an online health promotion program. The community data is unique as it describes how the network has evolved since its inception and because the information exchanged through the network was predominantly about the achievements of participants in the program and therefore influencing behavior through social comparison. The analyses show that the largest component of the community network has characteristics of a small world network. The analyses also show that connections are formed according to a strong attachment preference according to the gender, and a weaker homophily for Body Mass Index. The presented analysis can serve as basis for creating novel interventions that influence physical activity behavior through social connections.
Analysis and Evaluation of Social Contagion of Physical Activity in a Group of Young Adults
Eric F. M. Araujo, Anita V. T. T. Tran, Julia S. Mollee, Michel C. A. Klein
SocialInformatics 2015
It is known that opinions, attitudes and emotions spread through social networks. Several of these cognitions influence behavioral choices. Therefore, it is assumed that the level of physical activity of a person is influenced by the activity levels of the people in its social network. We have performed an experiment with 20 participants between 19 and 28 years old, measuring their physical activity levels for 30 days, in order to observe if there is a contagion effect due to the relationships in the social network. Using our social contagion model, we investigated if people will become more or less active according to the contacts with their peers within the network. Our model correctly predicts the direction of the change (increasing or decreasing) in 80% up to 87% of the cases investigated.
Online sharing of physical activity: does it accelerate the impact of a health promotion program?
A. Manzoor, J.S. Mollee, E.F.M. Araujo, A.T. van Halteren, M.C.A. Klein
SocialCom 2016
Influence on health behavior from peers is well known and it has been shown that participants in an online physical activity promotion program are generally more successful when they share their achievements through an online community. However, more detailed insights are needed into the mechanisms that explain the influence of a community on physical activity level (PAL). This paper discusses a detailed analysis of a data set of participants in an online physical activity promotion program. The analysis focuses on a method to compare community members with non-community members that eliminates to a large extent factors that dilute the community effect. We create statistical models that describe the PAL increase at the end of the program. A comparison of these models shows that community members not only have a higher PAL at the start of the program, but also that the PAL increase is significantly greater compared to non-community members. The results further support the hypothesis that stimulating participants to share their achievements with peers makes physical activity programs more successful to help people achieve a healthy activity level.