Propagation effects of filtering incongruent information

This report proposes for a simple individual-based model of information filtering, while focusing in particular on some of its implications for the attitude toward an object. The model assumes that a filter selects only important features, with a higher threshold of importance when the attitude toward the feature is incongruent with the global attitude toward the object. Individuals transmit only features that are congruent with their global attitude. This article considers two variants of the model. To both applies that different orders of feature reception can lead to different attitudes. For instance, a positive attitude toward an object can at a certain point become negative, even though the object is globally neutral (the sum of the feature attitudes is zero). The interactions among individuals can significantly increase the probability of such non-rational attitudes.