Opinion Dynamics: A Multidisciplinary Review and Perspective on Future Research

As a key sub-field of social dynamics and sociophysics, opinion dynamics utilizes mathematical and physical models and the agent-based computational modeling tools, to investigate the spreading of opinions in a collection of human beings. This research field stems from various disciplines in social sciences, especially the social influence models developed in social psychology and sociology. A multidisciplinary review is given in this paper, attempting to keep track of the historical development of the field and to shed light on its future directions. In the review, the authors discuss the disciplinary origins of opinion dynamics, showing that the combination of the social processes, which are conventionally studied in social sciences, and the analytical and computational tools, which are developed in mathematics, physics and complex system studies, gives birth to the interdisciplinary field of opinion dynamics. The current state of the art of opinion dynamics is then overviewed, with the research progresses on the typical models like the voter model, the Sznajd model, the culture dissemination model, and the bounded confidence model being highlighted. Correspondingly, the future directions of this academic field are envisioned, with an advocation for closer synthesis of the related disciplines.

[1]  Yu Chen,et al.  The Dynamics of Public Opinion in Complex Networks , 2008, J. Artif. Soc. Soc. Simul..

[2]  Albert-László Barabási,et al.  Statistical mechanics of complex networks , 2001, ArXiv.

[3]  Marsili,et al.  Nonequilibrium phase transition in a model for social influence , 2000, Physical review letters.

[4]  Lada A. Adamic,et al.  Information flow in social groups , 2003, cond-mat/0305305.

[5]  M. McPherson,et al.  Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks , 2001 .

[6]  C. Plott,et al.  Information Cascades: Replication and an Extension to Majority Rule and Conformity-Rewarding Institutions , 2001 .

[7]  S. Fortunato,et al.  Statistical physics of social dynamics , 2007, 0710.3256.

[8]  M. Olson,et al.  The Economics of Autocracy and Majority Rule: The Invisible Hand and the Use of Force , 1996 .

[9]  M. Mobilia.  Does a single zealot affect an infinite group of voters? , 2003, Physical review letters.

[10]  S. Redner,et al.  Constrained opinion dynamics: freezing and slow evolution , 2003 .

[11]  T. Kuran,et al.  Chameleon voters and public choice , 1987 .

[12]  H. Hinrichsen,et al.  Critical coarsening without surface tension: the universality class of the voter model. , 2001, Physical review letters.

[13]  Ahmed S. Elgazzar,et al.  APPLICATION OF THE SZNAJD SOCIOPHYSICS MODEL TO SMALL-WORLD NETWORKS , 2001 .

[14]  K. Lehrer.  Social consensus and rational agnoiology , 1975, Synthese.

[15]  Hannu Kivijärvi,et al.  Sustaining Organizational Innovativeness: Advancing Knowledge Sharing During the Scenario Process , 2010, Int. J. Knowl. Manag..

[16]  D. Watts,et al.  Influentials, Networks, and Public Opinion Formation , 2007 .

[17]  Charles R. Plott,et al.  Committee Decisions under Majority Rule: An Experimental Study , 1978, American Political Science Review.

[18]  S. Milgram.  Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View , 1975 .

[19]  Jorge Louçã,et al.  Opinion Dynamics and Communication Networks , 2009, Adv. Complex Syst..

[20]  S. Moscovici,et al.  Influence of a consistent minority on the responses of a majority in a color perception task. , 1969, Sociometry.

[21]  A. Grabowski,et al.  Ising-based model of opinion formation in a complex network of interpersonal interactions , 2006 .

[22]  Rainer Hegselmann,et al.  Opinion dynamics and bounded confidence: models, analysis and simulation , 2002, J. Artif. Soc. Soc. Simul..

[23]  Long Wang,et al.  Coevolutionary dynamics of opinions and networks: from diversity to uniformity. , 2008, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[24]  W. Weidlich,et al.  THE STATISTICAL DESCRIPTION OF POLARIZATION PHENOMENA IN SOCIETY , 1971 .

[25]  Vito Latora,et al.  Opinion dynamics and synchronization in a network of scientific collaborations , 2006, physics/0607210.

[26]  S. Bikhchandani,et al.  You have printed the following article : A Theory of Fads , Fashion , Custom , and Cultural Change as Informational Cascades , 2007 .

[27]  Hrafn Thorri Thórisson.  Emergence of Creativity: A Simulation Approach , 2008 .

[28]  S. Galam,et al.  Towards a theory of collective phenomena: Consensus and attitude changes in groups , 1991 .

[29]  Luciano da F. Costa,et al.  SURVIVING OPINIONS IN SZNAJD MODELS ON COMPLEX NETWORKS , 2005 .

[30]  B. Latané,et al.  From private attitude to public opinion: A dynamic theory of social impact. , 1990 .

[31]  Petter Holme,et al.  A Network-Based Threshold Model for the Spreading of fads in Society and Markets , 2005, Adv. Complex Syst..

[32]  Martin C. McGuire,et al.  The Economics of Autoc-racy and Majority Rule , 1996 .

[33]  Santo Fortunato.  THE KRAUSE HEGSELMANN CONSENSUS MODEL WITH DISCRETE OPINIONS , 2004 .

[34]  P. Clifford,et al.  A model for spatial conflict , 1973 .

[35]  Claudio Castellano,et al.  Incomplete ordering of the voter model on small-world networks , 2003 .

[36]  V. Eguíluz,et al.  Globalization, polarization and cultural drift , 2005 .

[37]  Alan Eardley,et al.  Innovative Knowledge Management: Concepts for Organizational Creativity and Collaborative Design , 2010 .

[38]  F. Schweitzer,et al.  SOCIAL IMPACT MODELS OF OPINION DYNAMICS , 2001 .

[39]  A. Banerjee,et al.  A Simple Model of Herd Behavior , 1992 .

[40]  Serge Galam,et al.  Dictatorship from majority rule voting , 2000 .

[41]  P M Hui,et al.  Dynamics of opinion formation in a small-world network. , 2006, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[42]  H. Simon,et al.  American Association for Public Opinion Research Bandwagon and Underdog Effects and the Possibility of Election Predictions , 2009 .

[43]  S. Asch.  Studies of independence and conformity: I. A minority of one against a unanimous majority. , 1956 .

[44]  Serge Galam,et al.  SOCIOPHYSICS: A REVIEW OF GALAM MODELS , 2008, 0803.1800.

[45]  Sascha Vitzthum,et al.  Dissemination of Culture in a Networked World: The Influence of Network Structure on the Outcomes of the Axelrod Cultural Model , 2007, AMCIS.

[46]  S Redner,et al.  Majority rule dynamics in finite dimensions. , 2005, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[47]  J. Keynes,et al.  The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. , 1936 .

[48]  Claudio Castellano.  Effect of network topology on the ordering dynamics of voter models , 2005 .

[49]  K. Sznajd-Weron.  Sznajd model and its applications , 2005, physics/0503239.

[50]  William J. Buchanan,et al.  Minimising Collateral Damage: Privacy-Preserving Investigative Data Acquisition Platform , 2011, Int. J. Inf. Technol. Syst. Approach.

[51]  F. H. Hankins,et al.  The Psychology of Social Norms , 1937 .

[52]  B. Latané.  Dynamic Social Impact: The Creation of Culture by Communication. , 1996 .

[53]  Gerard Weisbuch.  Bounded confidence and social networks , 2004 .

[54]  C Godreche,et al.  Phase ordering and persistence in a class of stochastic processes interpolating between the Ising and voter models , 1999 .

[55]  Damián H. Zanette,et al.  Opinion spreading and agent segregation on evolving networks , 2006 .

[56]  Joshua M. Epstein,et al.  Generative Social Science: Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling (Princeton Studies in Complexity) , 2007 .

[57]  Renaud Lambiotte,et al.  Majority rule on heterogeneous networks , 2008 .

[58]  V. Eguíluz,et al.  Conservation laws for the voter model in complex networks , 2004, cond-mat/0408101.

[59]  Vito Latora,et al.  OPINION FORMATION MODELS BASED ON GAME THEORY , 2006 .

[60]  S. Redner,et al.  Voter model on heterogeneous graphs. , 2004, Physical review letters.

[61]  F. Slanina,et al.  Analytical results for the Sznajd model of opinion formation , 2003, cond-mat/0305102.

[62]  J. French.  A formal theory of social power. , 1956, Psychology Review.

[63]  Jan Lorenz.  Heterogeneous bounds of confidence: Meet, discuss and find consensus! , 2010 .

[64]  Gerald H. Kramer,et al.  On a Class of Equilibrium Conditions for Majority Rule , 1973 .

[65]  Melvin J. Hinich,et al.  SOCIAL PREFERENCE ORDERINGS AND MAJORITY RULE , 1972 .

[66]  Serge Galam,et al.  Real space renormalization group and totalitarian paradox of majority rule voting , 2000 .

[67]  Raúl Toral,et al.  Role of dimensionality in Axelrod's model for the dissemination of culture , 2003 .

[68]  Krapivsky,et al.  Exact results for kinetics of catalytic reactions. , 1996, Physical review. E, Statistical physics, plasmas, fluids, and related interdisciplinary topics.

[69]  S. Fortunato.  On The Consensus Threshold For The Opinion Dynamics Of Krause–Hegselmann , 2004, cond-mat/0408648.

[70]  David Godes,et al.  Using Online Conversations to Study Word-of-Mouth Communication , 2004 .

[71]  Timoteo Carletti,et al.  How to make an efficient propaganda , 2006 .

[72]  Joel E. Cohen,et al.  Approaching consensus can be delicate when positions harden , 1986 .

[73]  Yin Shan,et al.  Intelligent Complex Adaptive Systems , 2008 .

[74]  Christian Schulze,et al.  Discretized Opinion Dynamics of the Deffuant Model on Scale-Free Networks , 2004, J. Artif. Soc. Soc. Simul..

[75]  Katarzyna Sznajd-Weron,et al.  Opinion evolution in closed community , 2000, cond-mat/0101130.

[76]  Dietrich Stauffer,et al.  Sociophysics simulations II: opinion dynamics , 2005, physics/0503115.

[77]  Krzysztof Suchecki,et al.  Voter model dynamics in complex networks: Role of dimensionality, disorder, and degree distribution. , 2005, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[78]  J. R. French,et al.  The bases of social power. , 1959 .

[79]  G J Baxter,et al.  Fixation and consensus times on a network: a unified approach. , 2008, Physical review letters.

[80]  Lars Taxén.  Using Activity Domain Theory for Managing Complex Systems , 2009 .

[81]  Ramanathan V. Guha,et al.  Information diffusion through blogspace , 2004, WWW '04.

[82]  B. Latané.  The psychology of social impact. , 1981 .

[83]  William A. Brock,et al.  Discrete Choice with Social Interactions , 2001 .

[84]  Martin S. Fridson,et al.  Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds , 2019 .

[85]  E. Ben-Naim.  Opinion dynamics: Rise and fall of political parties , 2004, cond-mat/0411427.

[86]  R. Axelrod.  The Dissemination of Culture , 1997 .

[87]  Peter Richmond,et al.  Non-monotonic spontaneous magnetization in a Sznajd-like consensus model , 2004 .

[88]  D. Scharfstein,et al.  Herd Behavior and Investment , 1990 .

[89]  Noah E. Friedkin,et al.  A Structural Theory of Social Influence: List of Tables and Figures , 1998 .

[90]  R. Lambiotte,et al.  Majority model on a network with communities. , 2006, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[91]  P. Lazarsfeld,et al.  6. Katz, E. Personal Influence: The Part Played by People in the Flow of Mass Communications , 1956 .

[92]  Jari Saramäki,et al.  Dynamics of latent voters. , 2008, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[93]  E. Seneta,et al.  Towards consensus: some convergence theorems on repeated averaging , 1977, Journal of Applied Probability.

[94]  Kenneth O. May,et al.  A Set of Independent Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Simple Majority Decision , 1952 .

[95]  M. Degroot.  Reaching a Consensus , 1974 .

[96]  L. Pereira,et al.  International Journal of Knowledge-Based Organizations , 2011 .

[97]  Robert J. Lempert,et al.  Making Computational Social Science Effective , 2002 .

[98]  F. Amblard,et al.  The role of network topology on extremism propagation with the Relative Agreement opinion dynamics , 2004 .

[99]  Charles R. Plott,et al.  A Notion of Equilibrium and Its Possibility Under Majority Rule , 1967 .

[100]  Noah E. Friedkin.  A Structural Theory of Social Influence: Measures of the Theoretical Constructs , 1998 .

[101]  Mark S. Granovetter.  Threshold Models of Collective Behavior , 1978, American Journal of Sociology.

[102]  Sarah A. Binder,et al.  Minority Rights, Majority Rule: Partisanship and the Development of Congress , 1997 .

[103]  S. Redner,et al.  Dynamics of vacillating voters , 2007, 0710.0914.

[104]  Fei Ding,et al.  CO-EVOLUTION OF OPINION AND STRATEGY IN PERSUASION DYNAMICS: AN EVOLUTIONARY GAME THEORETICAL APPROACH , 2009 .

[105]  M. R. Leippe,et al.  The Psychology of Attitude Change and Social Influence , 1991 .

[106]  Yamir Moreno,et al.  Dynamics of rumor spreading in complex networks. , 2003, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[107]  M. Newman,et al.  Nonequilibrium phase transition in the coevolution of networks and opinions. , 2006, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[108]  D. Stauffer,et al.  Election results and the Sznajd model on Barabasi network , 2001, cond-mat/0111147.

[109]  R. Holley,et al.  Ergodic Theorems for Weakly Interacting Infinite Systems and the Voter Model , 1975 .

[110]  Dietrich Stauffer,et al.  Sociophysics: the Sznajd model and its applications , 2002 .

[111]  J. T. Cox,et al.  Coalescing Random Walks and Voter Model Consensus Times on the Torus in $\mathbb{Z}^d$ , 1989 .

[112]  Noah E. Friedkin,et al.  A Structural Theory of Social Influence: List of Tables and Figures , 1998 .

[113]  Jan Lorenz,et al.  Continuous Opinion Dynamics under Bounded Confidence: A Survey , 2007, 0707.1762.

[114]  Guillaume Deffuant,et al.  Mixing beliefs among interacting agents , 2000, Adv. Complex Syst..

[115]  International Journal of Knowledge Management , 2022 .

[116]  Ozlem Bak,et al.  Translating knowledge management practices into the boundaries of supply chain , 2010 .

[117]  Yoshinori Hara,et al.  KM Approach for Improving the Labor Productivity of Vietnamese Enterprise , 2011, Int. J. Knowl. Manag..

[118]  Lillian Lee,et al.  Opinion Mining and Sentiment Analysis , 2008, Found. Trends Inf. Retr..

[119]  M. Russ.  Knowledge Management Strategies for Business Development , 2009 .

[120]  S. Moscovici,et al.  The group as a polarizer of attitudes. , 1969 .

[121]  David Stuart.  Knowledge Networks: The Social Software Perspective , 2009 .

[122]  V. Latora,et al.  VECTOR OPINION DYNAMICS IN A BOUNDED CONFIDENCE CONSENSUS MODEL , 2005, physics/0504017.

[123]  Herbert W. Hethcote,et al.  The Mathematics of Infectious Diseases , 2000, SIAM Rev..

[124]  Peter Sheridan Dodds,et al.  Universal behavior in a generalized model of contagion. , 2004, Physical review letters.

[125]  Jon M. Kleinberg,et al.  Tracing information flow on a global scale using Internet chain-letter data , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[126]  S. Fortunato.  UNIVERSALITY OF THE THRESHOLD FOR COMPLETE CONSENSUS FOR THE OPINION DYNAMICS OF DEFFUANT et al , 2004, cond-mat/0406054.

[127]  T. Schelling.  Micromotives and Macrobehavior , 1978 .