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A maximum entropy model for opinions in social groups

Author

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  • Sergio Davis
  • Yasmín Navarrete
  • Gonzalo Gutiérrez

Abstract

We study how the opinions of a group of individuals determine their spatial distribution and connectivity, through an agent-based model. The interaction between agents is described by a Hamiltonian in which agents are allowed to move freely without an underlying lattice (the average network topology connecting them is determined from the parameters). This kind of model was derived using maximum entropy statistical inference under fixed expectation values of certain probabilities that (we propose) are relevant to social organization. Control parameters emerge as Lagrange multipliers of the maximum entropy problem, and they can be associated with the level of consequence between the personal beliefs and external opinions, and the tendency to socialize with peers of similar or opposing views. These parameters define a phase diagram for the social system, which we studied using Monte Carlo Metropolis simulations. Our model presents both first and second-order phase transitions, depending on the ratio between the internal consequence and the interaction with others. We have found a critical value for the level of internal consequence, below which the personal beliefs of the agents seem to be irrelevant. Copyright EDP Sciences, SIF, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Sergio Davis & Yasmín Navarrete & Gonzalo Gutiérrez, 2014. "A maximum entropy model for opinions in social groups," The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, Springer;EDP Sciences, vol. 87(4), pages 1-7, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurphb:v:87:y:2014:i:4:p:1-7:10.1140/epjb/e2014-40918-6
    DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2014-40918-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Moreno, Felipe & Davis, Sergio & Loyola, Claudia & Peralta, Joaquín, 2018. "Ordered metastable states in the Potts model and their connection with the superheated solid state," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 509(C), pages 361-368.
    2. Farías, Constanza & Davis, Sergio, 2021. "Multiple metastable states in an off-lattice Potts model," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 581(C).

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    Keywords

    Statistical and Nonlinear Physics;

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