Changing Opinions in a Changing World: a New Perspective in Sociophysics
Other Condensed Matter
2007-05-23 v2 Statistical Mechanics
Abstract
We propose a new model of opinion formation, the Opinion Changing Rate (OCR) model. Instead of investigating the conditions that allow consensus in a world of agents with different opinions, we study under which conditions a group of agents with a different natural tendency (rate) to change opinion can find agreement. The OCR is a modified version of the Kuramoto model, one of the simplest models for synchronization in biological systems, here adapted to a social context. By means of several numerical simulations we illustrate the richness of the OCR model dynamics and its social implications.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0410217,
title = {Changing Opinions in a Changing World: a New Perspective in Sociophysics},
author = {A. Pluchino and V. Latora and A. Rapisarda},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0410217},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
18 pages, 11 figures, to appear in Int. J. Mod. Phys. C 16, issue 4