Opinion dynamics: inhomogeneous Boltzmann-type equations modelling opinion leadership and political segregation

Abstract

We propose and investigate different kinetic models for opinion formation, when the opinion formation process depends on an additional independent variable, e.g. a leadership or a spatial variable. More specifically, we consider (i) opinion dynamics under the effect of opinion leadership, where each individual is characterized not only by its opinion but also by another independent variable which quantifies leadership qualities; (ii) opinion dynamics modelling political segregation in ‘The Big Sort’, a phenomenon that US citizens increasingly prefer to live in neighbourhoods with politically like-minded individuals. Based on microscopic opinion consensus dynamics such models lead to inhomogeneous Boltzmann-type equations for the opinion distribution. We derive macroscopic Fokker–Planck-type equations in a quasi-invariant opinion limit and present results of numerical experiments.