Date of Submission
Fall 2023
Academic Program
Computer Science
Project Advisor 1
Kerri-Ann Norton
Abstract/Artist's Statement
This paper examines the effect of increasing the population density (number of people), rumor threshold, liking factor, and influence on the rate of the rumor spread in an agent-based model. A rumor is a piece of information disseminated without official verification and it is very difficult to stop it from propagation once it begins. Dissemination takes place when individuals of powerful influence are within a population and have close face-to-face interactions with other individuals. The nature of the rumor is such that it will survive even if the adoption percentage is minimal. Using two agent-based models and statistical tools such as ANOVA, Tukey’s HSD, and Independent Samples T-Test, this study demonstrates the significance of population density, rumor threshold, and influence on the rate of the rumor spread. It argues that the most powerful were the effects of influence and rumor threshold and that the liking factors effects were negligible. Although the findings of this study are significant, the model lacks the necessary complexity to capture real-world rumors and agent behaviors. Further research can be undertaken considering these deficiencies.
Keywords: rumor, threshold, liking factor, spread, effect.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Naweed, Abdul Matloob, "The Effect of Increasing Number of People, Rumor-Threshold, Liking-Factor, and Influence on the Spread of Rumors: An Agent-Based Modelling Approach" (2023). Senior Projects Fall 2023. 40.
https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_f2023/40
This work is protected by a Creative Commons license. Any use not permitted under that license is prohibited.
