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Opinion Dynamics And Communication Networks

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Author Info

  • SVEN BANISCH

    () (Institute for Complexity Science (ICC), 1649-026 Lisbon, Portugal; Faculty of Media, Bauhaus–University Weimar, D-99421 Weimar, Germany; Research Unit on Complexity in Economics (UECE), ISEG, TULisbon, 1200-781 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • TANYA ARAÚJO

    () (Institute for Complexity Science (ICC), 1649-026 Lisbon, Portugal; Research Unit on Complexity in Economics (UECE), ISEG, TULisbon, 1200-781 Lisbon, Portugal)

  • JORGE LOUÇÃ

    () (Institute for Complexity Science (ICC), 1649-026 Lisbon, Portugal; Laboratory of Agent Modelling (LabMAg), ISCTE, 1649-026 Lisbon, Portugal)

Abstract

This paper examines the interplay of opinion exchange dynamics and communication network formation. An opinion formation procedure is introduced which is based on an abstract representation of opinions as k-dimensional bit-strings. Individuals interact if the difference in the opinion strings is below a defined similarity threshold dI. Depending on dI, different behavior of the population is observed: low values result in a state of highly fragmented opinions and higher values yield consensus. The first contribution of this research is to identify the values of parameters dI and k, such that the transition between fragmented opinions and homogeneity takes place. Then, we look at this transition from two perspectives: first by studying the group size distribution and second by analyzing the communication network that is formed by the interactions that take place during the simulation. The emerging networks are classified by statistical means and we find that nontrivial social structures emerge from simple rules for individual communication. Generating networks allows to compare model outcomes with real-world communication patterns.

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. in its journal Advances in Complex Systems.

Volume (Year): 13 (2010)
Issue (Month): 01 ()
Pages: 95-111

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Handle: RePEc:wsi:acsxxx:v:13:y:2010:i:01:p:95-111

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Related research

Keywords: Opinion dynamics; social networks; co-evolution; computational models; artificial societies;

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  1. Tanya Araújo & Rui Vilela Mendes, 2007. "Innovation Success and Structural Change: An Abstract Agent Based Study," Working Papers 2007/25, Department of Economics at the School of Economics and Management (ISEG), Technical University of Lisbon..
  2. Galam, Serge, 2004. "The dynamics of minority opinions in democratic debate," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 336(1), pages 56-62.
  3. Duffy, John, 2006. "Agent-Based Models and Human Subject Experiments," Handbook of Computational Economics, in: Leigh Tesfatsion & Kenneth L. Judd (ed.), Handbook of Computational Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 19, pages 949-1011 Elsevier.
  4. F. Schweitzer & L. Behera, 2009. "Nonlinear voter models: the transition from invasion to coexistence," The European Physical Journal B - Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 301-318, February.
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