Abstract
The dynamics of competing opinions on networks has attracted multi-disciplinary research. Most modelling approaches assume uniform or heterogeneous behaviour among all individuals, while the role of distinctive group behaviour is rarely addressed. Here, we consider competition occurring between two opinion groups with bound rewiring rules, i.e., opinion-preferred rewiring, degree-preferred rewiring and random rewiring. When two opinions share a balanced initial proportion, opinion-preferred rewiring is superior to the other rules under low rewiring rates, and coexistence occurs under high rewiring rates. For unbalanced proportions, the best response rule for the minority/majority is unfixed, and this depends on the initial proportion and rewiring frequency. Furthermore, we find evolution processes for all competing cases belong to two categories. Evolution Category I shows an obvious correlation between opinion proportions and the density of discordant edges (connecting nodes with different opinions), and these trends can be effectively described by numerical approximations. However, for Evolution Category II, no such correlation exists for individuals or linking pairs, and an analysis of local structures reveals the emergence of large numbers of open triads with the same opinions, denoting group prevalence. This work broadens the understanding of opinion competition and inspires exploring group strategies employed in social dynamic systems.
Highlights
Opinion dynamics concern the ways in which different opinions evolve in a population, especially the ways that consensus is reached or the coexistence of several opinions
This work introduces the social influence and group behaviour (SIGB) model, which considers opinion group-based rewiring rules applied within a generalized adaptive voter model
We examine three basic forms of rewiring as alternative group strategies applied within the SIGB model
Summary
Opinion dynamics concern the ways in which different opinions evolve in a population, especially the ways that consensus is reached or the coexistence of several opinions. For the structure update mechanism, various rewiring behaviours ( known as partner-switching) have been considered due to their effects on network structures and opinion proportions, especially random rewiring[26,42], homophily-based rewiring[14,19,20,24,45], and, recently, rewiring based on local topologies, heterogeneities, or additional geographic information[25,46,47]. As an empirically blurry case, for some religions, missionaries more openly preach their beliefs (Christianity) even when they maintain designated places for activities (e.g., churches), while for other religions, religious practice is more restricted to certain areas (temples)[57], and modes of spreading beliefs are more restrained (Buddhism) As another example, lovers with different beliefs face considerable pressures from religious rules and from their companions, causing such couples to be unstable and often leading to separation due to their beliefs in different gods[58,59,60]. Node degrees are key features of network structures, and preferentially rewiring to nodes with high degrees without considering opinions (Rule III) represents the essence of preferential attachment models[66,67]
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