Opinion Dynamics with Higher-order Bounded Confidence

Yang

2023

Entropy

Due to the development of social media, the mechanisms underlying consensus and chaos in opinion dynamics have become open questions and have been extensively researched in disciplines such as sociology, statistical physics, and nonlinear mathematics. In this regard, our paper establishes a general model of opinion evolution based on micro-mechanisms such as bounded confidence, out-group pressure, and in-group cohesion. Several core conclusions are derived through theorems and simulation results in the model: (1) assimilation and high reachability in social networks lead to global consensus; (2) assimilation and low reachability result in local consensus; (3) exclusion and high reachability cause chaos; and (4) a strong “cocoon room effect” can sustain the existence of local consensus. These conclusions collectively form the “ideal synchronization theory”, which also includes findings related to convergence rates, consensus bifurcation, and other exploratory conclusions. Additionally, to address questions about consensus and chaos, we develop a series of mathematical and statistical methods, including the “energy decrease method”, the “cross-d search method”, and the statistical test method for the dynamical models, contributing to a broader understanding of stochastic dynamics.

Bounded Confidence and Cohesion-Moderated Pressure: A General Model for the Large-Scale Dynamics of Ordered Opinion

Yang

2023

Entropy

The Evolution of Cooperation in Multigames with Uniform Random Hypergraphs

Zhang

Jin

et al. 2023

Mathematics

How to explain the emergence of cooperative behavior remains a significant problem. As players may hold diverse perceptions on a particular dilemma, the concept of multigames has been introduced. Therefore, a multigame is studied within various binary networks. Since group structures are common in human society and a person can participate in multiple groups, this paper studies an evolutionary multigame with high-order interaction properties. For this purpose, a uniform random hypergraph is adopted as the network structure, allowing players to interact with all nodes in the same hyperedge. First, we investigate the effect of the multigame payoff matrix differences on the evolution of cooperation and find that increasing the differences in the payoff matrix promotes cooperation on the hypergraph network. Second, we discover that an increase in the average hyperdegree of the hypergraph network promotes network reciprocity, wherein high-hyperdegree nodes influence surrounding nodes to form a cooperator cluster. Conversely, groups with a low hyperdegree are more susceptible to betrayal, leading to a decline in cooperation.

Agent-Based Modeling of Consensus Group Formation with Complex Webs of Beliefs

Koponen

2022

Systems

Formation of consensus groups with shared opinions or views is a common feature of human social life and also a well-known phenomenon in cases when views are complex, as in the case of the formation of scholarly disciplines. In such cases, shared views are not simple sets of opinions but rather complex webs of beliefs (WoBs). Here, we approach such consensus group formation through the agent-based model (ABM). Agents’ views are described as complex, extensive web-like structures resembling semantic networks, i.e., webs of beliefs. In the ABM introduced here, the agents’ interactions and participation in sharing their views are dependent on the similarity of the agents’ webs of beliefs; the greater the similarity, the more likely the interaction and sharing of elements of WoBs. In interactions, the WoBs are altered when agents seek consensus and consensus groups are formed. The consensus group formation depends on the agents’ sensitivity to the similarity of their WoBs. If their sensitivity is low, only one large and diffuse group is formed, while with high sensitivity, many separated and segregated consensus groups emerge. To conclude, we discuss how such results resemble the formation of disciplinary, scholarly consensus groups.