Analysing contrarian behaviour using nonlinear biased $q$-voter model
Fuente:
arXiv
Salvato in:
| Autori principali: | , , |
|---|---|
| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2025
|
| Soggetti: | |
| Accesso online: | |
| Tags: |
Aggiungi Tag
Nessun Tag, puoi essere il primo ad aggiungerne!!
|
| _version_ | 1866916929951760384 |
|---|---|
| author | Pradhan, Amit Mullick, Pratik Sen, Parongama |
| author_facet | Pradhan, Amit Mullick, Pratik Sen, Parongama |
| contents | We investigate the role of contrarians in a recently proposed weighted-influence variant of the $q$-voter model. In this framework, non-unanimous influence groups affect the focal agent through weighted contributions governed by a bias parameter $p$. We extend this setting by introducing a fraction $α$ ($α> 0$) of contrarians, defined as agents who systematically oppose the prevailing influence irrespective of whether the group is unanimous or divided. Analytical mean-field calculations and Monte Carlo simulations reveal that the final states of the system are governed by simple phase boundaries: regions of positive and negative majority separated by the lines $p=1/2$ and $α=1/2$, with equally-mixed states confined to these boundaries. While low contrarian densities are insufficient to overturn the bias, higher values of $α$ systematically drive the system closer to a balanced coexistence of opinions, though exact parity is prevented by the presence of bias $p$. We further analyze the temporal relaxation of opinions and extract the characteristic timescales of convergence. Our findings highlight how contrarians, acting as structured non-conformists, can suppress consensus and maintain opinion diversity, while internal biases ultimately hinder a perfectly even split. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_01982 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Analysing contrarian behaviour using nonlinear biased $q$-voter model Pradhan, Amit Mullick, Pratik Sen, Parongama Physics and Society Statistical Mechanics We investigate the role of contrarians in a recently proposed weighted-influence variant of the $q$-voter model. In this framework, non-unanimous influence groups affect the focal agent through weighted contributions governed by a bias parameter $p$. We extend this setting by introducing a fraction $α$ ($α> 0$) of contrarians, defined as agents who systematically oppose the prevailing influence irrespective of whether the group is unanimous or divided. Analytical mean-field calculations and Monte Carlo simulations reveal that the final states of the system are governed by simple phase boundaries: regions of positive and negative majority separated by the lines $p=1/2$ and $α=1/2$, with equally-mixed states confined to these boundaries. While low contrarian densities are insufficient to overturn the bias, higher values of $α$ systematically drive the system closer to a balanced coexistence of opinions, though exact parity is prevented by the presence of bias $p$. We further analyze the temporal relaxation of opinions and extract the characteristic timescales of convergence. Our findings highlight how contrarians, acting as structured non-conformists, can suppress consensus and maintain opinion diversity, while internal biases ultimately hinder a perfectly even split. |
| title | Analysing contrarian behaviour using nonlinear biased $q$-voter model |
| topic | Physics and Society Statistical Mechanics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.01982 |