Opinion-structure changes in non-equilibrium model of social impact

摘要

We study relaxational dynamics of social systems within a kinetic binary-choice (Ising-like) model. On the basis of the assumptions of the deterministic social-impact model in discrete time introduced by Nowak et al. (Psychol Rev 1990, 97, 362), we construct a probabilistic, continuous-time description. Although there are no stationary (equilibrium) solutions of the model in general, the presence of strong leaders maintaining their opinions for a long-time and strongly influencing other individuals leads to quasi-stable (steady-state) solutions. Analyzing closed individual chains,we discuss changes of the individual-opinion structure while varying a global parameter of the model. Such a kind of acriticalbehaviour is possible although there is no true phase equilibrium.