Repulsive Attachment: How Negative Ties Shape Network Growth

A lot of models assume people add links via degree, betweenness, or homophily, but seldom account for how negative ties influence link formation. Building on Neal et al.’s inference of signed networks from observational data (gender heterophily in negative ties among preschoolers), and Topîrceanu et al.’s Weighted Betweenness Preferential Attachment (WBPA), this idea proposes a signed-attachment kernel that combines attraction to high-betweenness nodes with repulsion from negatively connected alters. The twist is to estimate negative ties in platforms that only show positive connections by using bipartite backbone methods (as in Neal et al.) and content/stance divergence in argumentation systems. Thota and Liu’s work on directional, mutual, and group impacts in cyber-argumentation provides a natural testbed to quantify how inferred negative ties alter collective opinion formation and enable detection of “pseudo-supporters.” The novelty is to formalize repulsion-based preferential detachment/rewiring that predicts: (a) anti-closure triads, (b) contrarian bridges that stabilize across communities, and (c) degree saturation in hubs with high negative exposure despite high centrality. This reframing could explain anomalies where highly central actors fail to accumulate ties, and where bridging links persist precisely because of cross-faction repulsion dynamics. If validated, it would add a missing piece to network evolution theory by treating negative social energy as an explicit driver of topology.

References:

1. Assessing Impact of Social Network on Formation of Opinions in Integrated Intelligent Argumentation with Social Network. B. Thota, Xiaoqing Liu (2023). International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining.
2. Assessing the impact of social network on the formation and evolution of collective opinion in integrated intelligent argumentation with social network. B. Thota, Xiaoqing Liu (2025). Social Network Analysis and Mining.
3. Weighted Betweenness Preferential Attachment: A New Mechanism Explaining Social Network Formation and Evolution. Alexandru Topîrceanu, M. Udrescu, R. Marculescu (2018). Scientific Reports.
4. Inferring signed networks from preschoolers' observed parallel and social play. J. Neal, Z. Neal, C. Durbin (2022). Soc. Networks.