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Hysteresis Effects in Social Behavior with Parasitic Infection

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Abstract

Recent work has found that the behavior of an individual can be altered when infected by a parasite. Here we explore the question: under what conditions, in principle, can a general parasitic infection control system-wide social behaviors? We analyze fixed points and hysteresis effects under the Master Equation, with transitions between two behaviors given two different subpopulations, healthy vs. parasitically-infected, within a population which is kept fixed overall. The key model choices are: (i) the internal opinion of infected humans may differ from that of the healthy population, (ii) the extent that interaction drives behavioral changes may also differ, and (iii) indirect interactions are most important. We find that the socioconfiguration can be controlled by the parasitically-infected population, under some conditions, even if the healthy population is the majority and of opposite opinion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Michael Phillips

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  1. Michael Phillips
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Correspondence to Michael Phillips.

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Communicated by Irene Giardina.

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Phillips, M. Hysteresis Effects in Social Behavior with Parasitic Infection. J Stat Phys 181, 293–304 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10955-020-02580-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10955-020-02580-6

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