The Flow of Influence From Two-Step to Network Perspectives

Abstract

The two-step flow of communication by Paul Lazarsfeld and Elihu Katz is one of the curial theories in the communication science field. The theory focused on the mass media message flow in society and showed that message flowed from opinion leaders to other individuals. Although the study is a groundbreaking masterpiece in its time, significant developments in the mathematical models of contagion theory, simulation technique, empirical data, and digital technologies necessitate a revision of the theory. This chapter focuses on how computational methods can apply to the two-step flow of communication theory and how computational approaches can handle the less valued or non-evaluable dimensions. © 2022 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.