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Main Authors: Banisch, Sven, Wessels, Joris
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.07323
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author Banisch, Sven
Wessels, Joris
author_facet Banisch, Sven
Wessels, Joris
contents Understanding how individuals' beliefs and attitudes evolve within a population is crucial for explaining social phenomena such as polarization and consensus formation. We explore a persuasive arguments model incorporating confirmation bias, where individuals preferentially accept information aligning with their existing beliefs. By employing a mean-field approach, widely used in statistical physics, we simplify complex processes of argument exchange within the population. Our analysis proceeds by projecting the model onto continuous opinion dynamics and further reducing it through mean-field reasoning. The findings highlight the robustness of mean-field predictions and their compatibility with agent-based simulations, capturing the transition from consensus to polarization induced by confirmation bias.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2411_07323
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Mean-field analysis for cognitively-grounded opinion dynamics with confirmation bias
Banisch, Sven
Wessels, Joris
Physics and Society
Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems
91D30, 82C32, 68T05
G.3; I.6
Understanding how individuals' beliefs and attitudes evolve within a population is crucial for explaining social phenomena such as polarization and consensus formation. We explore a persuasive arguments model incorporating confirmation bias, where individuals preferentially accept information aligning with their existing beliefs. By employing a mean-field approach, widely used in statistical physics, we simplify complex processes of argument exchange within the population. Our analysis proceeds by projecting the model onto continuous opinion dynamics and further reducing it through mean-field reasoning. The findings highlight the robustness of mean-field predictions and their compatibility with agent-based simulations, capturing the transition from consensus to polarization induced by confirmation bias.
title Mean-field analysis for cognitively-grounded opinion dynamics with confirmation bias
topic Physics and Society
Adaptation and Self-Organizing Systems
91D30, 82C32, 68T05
G.3; I.6
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.07323