Emergence of moderate opinions as a consequence of group pressure

Abstract

In this work, we study a continuous opinion dynamics model considering 3-agent interactions and group pressure. Agents interact in a fully-connected population, and two parameters govern the dynamics: the agents’ convictions [Formula: see text] that are homogeneous in the population, and the group pressure [Formula: see text]. Stochastic parameters also drive the interactions. Our analytical and numerical results indicate that the model undergoes symmetry-breaking transitions at distinct critical points [Formula: see text] for any value of [Formula: see text], i.e. the transition can be suppressed for sufficiently high group pressure. Such transition separates two phases: for any [Formula: see text], the order parameter [Formula: see text] is identically null ([Formula: see text], a symmetric, absorbing phase), while for [Formula: see text], we have [Formula: see text], i.e. a symmetry-broken phase (ferromagnetic). The numerical simulations also reveal that the increase of group pressure leads to a wider distribution of opinions, decreasing the extremism in the population.