Modeling opinion dynamics using statistical mechanics

Jahromizadeh, Zahra; Karimi, Mohammad Javad; Kadivar, Erfan

doi:10.22055/jrmbs.2025.20482

Modeling opinion dynamics using statistical mechanics

Document Type : Full length research Paper

Authors

zahra Jahromizadeh

Mohammad Javad Karimi

Erfan Kadivar

Department of Physics, Shiraz University of Technology, Shiraz, Iran

10.22055/jrmbs.2025.20482

Abstract

In this study, we propose a new mechanism to describe the bipolar phenomenon in opinion dynamics. We assume that individuals in a community review and analyze their opinions based on feedback from their surrounding community. In this numerical study, we consider 100 agents and we generate a random geometric network to define the neighborhood structure. The approach taken in this paper can be seen as a combination of physics-inspired binary opinion dynamics and social influence models. Agents are allowed to express two alternative opinions (binary choice).
After exchanging their opinions, both agents have the possibility to change their initial opinions.
Finally, the effect of learning rate and time evolution on dispersion, standard deviation, variance, and support strength are investigated.

Keywords

Statistical physics

Social dynamics

Opinion dynamics

Opinion polarization

Social feedback

Subjects

Interdisciplinary fields

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