Homework 3: Spread of Healthy Behavior in a Network of Students
AI Prompt: Artistic representation of two people influencing each other’s opinions.
Introduction to Social Contagion and Physical Activity
The homework for this week encompasses reading a paper and answering some questions about it on Moodle.
This paper explores the concept of social contagion and how it relates to physical activity levels. The authors of this paper conducted an experiment to see if a computational model of social contagion could accurately predict changes in physical activity levels among a group of young adults.
The study involved 20 participants between the ages of 19 and 28.
Researchers collected data on the participants’ physical activity levels for 30 days using Fitbit activity monitors.
They also gathered information about the participants’ social network, personality traits, and the strength of their relationships.
The researchers used this information to create a computational model that simulated the spread of physical activity levels through the social network. The model took into account factors such as:
Expressiveness: the extent to which individuals influence others
Openness: the extent to which individuals are open to influence from others
Connection strength: the strength of the relationship between two individuals
By comparing the model’s predictions to the actual changes in physical activity levels observed in the participants, the researchers were able to assess the model’s accuracy in predicting the direction of change in physical activity.
After reading this paper, you should be able to answer questions about:
The concept of social contagion and how it applies to physical activity levels
The methodology and design of the experiment
The key parameters and variables used in the computational model
The results of the experiment and the accuracy of the model’s predictions
The limitations of the study and potential areas for future research
