My-side bias, availability bias, and social interaction

Abstract In deliberative communication, biases can influence community consensus. This paper models communication under two specific biases: my-side bias, where individuals evaluate new information based on their current beliefs, and availability bias, where individuals rely only on information sources most easily accessible. By simulating various social conditions, we show that (a) under certain circumstances, both biases can enhance correct consensus formation; (b) changing group size has only marginal effects; and (c) network structure impacts only under specific conditions.