Group emotional contagion and simulation in large-scale flight delays based on the two-layer network model

Abstract

This paper aims to construct a feasible two-layer network model for the emotional contagion of passenger groups in the case of large-scale flight delays. This improved emotional contagion model can study the emotional contagion mechanism and process of delayed passengers between online and offline social contact networks. Besides, it also introduces multiple attributes such as passenger personality, social relationships, offline and online social characters. Afterward, how the different scenes influence the delayed passengers’ emotional contagion is analyzed through simulation experiments. The simulation results show that the introduction of social network accelerates emotional evolution and contagion. Moreover, the significant impact of the online network layer on passengers will lead to faster and more obvious emotional infection. Our results further suggest that passengers’ emotional evolution is intensified when their heterogeneity is considered and when they enter a scene with negative emotions. This paper reveals the emotional evolution law of passengers from the two-layer network perspective, and then put forward reasonable inspirations and suggestions to the management department, which has practical significance for the early-warning of mass incidents.