`The influence of persuasion in opinion formation and polarization

C. E. LA ROCCA; L. A. BRAUNSTEIN; F. VAZQUEZ

EUROPHYSICS LETTERS

EPL ASSOCIATION

Lugar: Bologna; Año: 2014 vol. 106 p. 1 - 5

0295-5075

We present a model that explores the influence of persuasion in a population of agents with positive and negative opinion orientations. The opinion of each agent is represented by an integer number k that expresses its level of agreement on a given issue, from totally against k = −M to totally in favor k = M . Same-orientation agents persuade each other with probability p, becoming more extreme, while opposite orientation agents become more moderate as they reach a compromise with probability q. The population initially evolves to (a) a polarized state for r = p/q > 1, where opinions? distribution is peaked at the extreme values k = ±M , or (b) a centralized state for r < 1, with most opinions around k = ±1. When r ≫ 1, polarization lasts for a time that diverges as r ~ ln N , where N is the population?s size. Finally, an extremist consensus (k = M or −M ) is reached in a time that scales as r−1 for r ≪ 1.