Meet, discuss, and segregate!

Abstract

We present a model of opinion dynamics in which agents adjust continuous opinions as a result of random binary encounters whenever their difference in opinion is below a given threshold. High thresholds yield convergence of opinions toward an average opinion, whereas low thresholds result in several opinion clusters. The model is further generalized to network interactions

Clustering and asymptotic behavior in opinion formation

“…Thanks to the development of social media, the dynamics of opinion formation has recently generated much interest [1,4,10,11,17,20,21]. Through a complex network of interactions between individuals emerge groups with different opinions raising several questions; for instance how groups are formed and how many of them will survive throughout time.…”

Opinion dynamics within a virtual small group: the stubbornness effect

“…Most of these models are based on dyadic relations, producing sensible results within the framework of "large" human communities [2][3][4] including effects such as the influences of the clusterization as well as the minority or the extremist effects [5][6][7]. However, many real life social interactions take place in the small groups, where the rules of behavior may be more complex that those captured in dyadic models.…”

Minorities in a model for opinion formation

“…In some regards, the emergence of a collective state is reminiscent of many other synchronization effects in populations with global coupling in the fields of physics, chemistry and biology [1,2,3]. The starting point of the present work is a model for opinion formation introduced by Weisbuch and coworkers [4]. The state of the agents is a continuous variable, representing an opinion, that evolves according to rules tending to homogenize the system.…”