Andrea Baronchelli
The Naming Game model (some pointers)
The (minimal) Naming Game model describes how a shared convention can 'spontaneously' emerge in a population of agents that interact locally with their peers, without any central coordination [1].
Recently, the model has proven successful in reproducing the results of an experimental study on the spontaneous emergence of conventions, run by Damon Centola and myself [2] (to stress the existence of both a model and an experiment, with similar yet not identical design, we dubbed the latter `Name Game').
Here are some key results and predictions of the Naming Game model:
We introduced the model in [1] (a different version was introduced in [3]), where the case of an homogeneously mixing population is studied. A final convention emerges through a phenomenon of symmetry breaking [1][4].
On regular spatial networks (i.e., lattices) the dynamics is different. Regional clusters of locally agreeing individuals emerge rapidly, but global consensus is slow, as it is reached through competition between clusters (coarsening dynamics) [5].
On Watts-Strogatz networks local clusters emerge rapidly, but the presence of shortcuts connecting otherwise far-apart regions breaks them. Final consensus is reached through a symmetry breaking process [6].
The same picture is confirmed on a variety of complex networks, where consensus is reached on the same time-scale as in homogeneously mixing populations [7].
But does a shared convention emerge always? No. A generalised Naming Game shows a basic mechanism that allows multiple conventions to co-exist indefinitely [8][9] (where we derived also the analytic solution to the two-word variant of the model).
The Naming Game model occupied a central role in my PhD thesis, and I have worked intermittently on it ever since. For more information please check my publications page.
References:
[1] Sharp transition towards shared vocabularies in multi-agent systems
A. Baronchelli, M. Felici, V. Loreto, E. Caglioti and L. Steels
[2]The spontaneous emergence of conventions: An experimental study of cultural evolution
D. Centola and A. Baronchelli
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 112, 1989 (2015)
[3] A self-organizing spatial vocabulary
L. Steels
Artificial Life 2, 319 (1995)
[4] In-depth analysis of the Naming Game dynamics: the homogeneous mixing case
A. Baronchelli, V. Loreto and L. Steels
Int. J. of Mod. Phys. C 19, 785 (2008)
[4] In-depth analysis of the Naming Game dynamics: the homogeneous mixing case
A. Baronchelli, V. Loreto and L. Steels
Int. J. of Mod. Phys. C 19, 785 (2008)
[5] Topology induced coarsening in language games language
A. Baronchelli, L. Dall'Asta, A. Barrat and V. Loreto
Phys. Rev. E 73, 015102(R) (2006)
[6] Agreement dynamics on small-world networks
L. Dall'Asta, A. Baronchelli, A. Barrat and V. Loreto
Europhys. Lett. 73, 969 (2006)
[7] Non-equilibrium dynamics of language games on complex networks
L. Dall'Asta, A. Baronchelli, A. Barrat and V. Loreto
Phys. Rev. E 74, 036105 (2006)
[8] Non-equilibrium phase transition in negotiation dynamics
A. Baronchelli, L. Dall'Asta, A. Barrat and V. Loreto
Phys. Rev. E 76, 051102 (2007)
[9] Role of feedback and broadcasting in the naming game
A. Baronchelli
