CHANGING OPINIONS IN A CHANGING WORLD: A NEW PERSPECTIVE IN SOCIOPHYSICS

Abstract

We propose a new model of opinion formation, the Opinion Changing Rate (OCR) model. Instead of investigating the conditions that allow consensus in a world of agents with different opinions, we study the conditions under which a group of agents with different natural tendency (rate) to change opinion can find agreement. The OCR is a modified version of the Kuramoto model, one of the simplest models for synchronization in biological systems, adapted here to a social context. By means of several numerical simulations, we illustrate the richness of the OCR model dynamics and its social implications.