Benefits of Diversity, Communication Costs, and Public Opinion Dynamics

Authored by Gani Aldashev, Timoteo Carletti

DOI: 10.1002/cplx.20276

Sponsors: National Bank of Belgium

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

We study the dynamics of public opinion in a model where agents change their opinions as a result of random binary encounters if the opinion difference is below their individual thresholds that evolve over time. We ground these thresholds in a simple individual cost-benefit analysis with linear benefits of diversity and quadratic communication costs. We clarify and deepen the results of earlier continuous-opinion dynamics models (Deffuant et al., Adv Complex Systems 2000, 3, 87-98; Weisbuch et al., Complexity 2002, 7, 55-63) and establish several new results regarding the patterns of opinions in the asymptotic state and the cluster formation time. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 15:54-63, 2009

Tags

Agent-based models Opinion dynamics Diversity communication costs