Abstract

We study dynamics of opinion formation in a network of coupled agents. As the network evolves to a steady state, opinions of agents within the same community converge faster than those of other agents. This framework allows us to study how network topology and network flow, which mediates the transfer of opinions between agents, both affect the formation of communities. In traditional models of opinion dynamics, agents are coupled via conservative flows, which result in one-to-one opinion transfer. However, social interactions are often nonconservative, resulting in one-to-many transfer of opinions. We study opinion formation in networks using one-to-one and one-to-many interactions and show that they lead to different community structure within the same network.

Date

April 3, 2015

Authors

Rumi Ghosh, Kristina Lerman

Journal

The Journal of Mathematical Sociology

Volume

39

Issue

2

Pages

109-124

Publisher

Routledge