Opinion Dynamics in an Open Community

TL;DR

This paper explores how opinions evolve in an open community with dynamic membership, using a simplified model that incorporates mutual affinity, revealing complex behaviors supported by simulations and analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel model for opinion dynamics in open communities, accounting for agent turnover and mutual affinity, with analytical and numerical insights.

Findings

Rich phenomenology of opinion formation dynamics

Analytical and numerical validation of the model

Insights into the impact of agent turnover on opinions

Abstract

We here discuss the process of opinion formation in an open community where agents are made to interact and consequently update their beliefs. New actors (birth) are assumed to replace individuals that abandon the community (deaths). This dynamics is simulated in the framework of a simplified model that accounts for mutual affinity between agents. A rich phenomenology is presented and discussed with reference to the original (closed group) setting. Numerical findings are supported by analytical calculations.