Entropical Analysis of an Opinion Formation Model Presenting a Spontaneous Third Position Emergence

TL;DR

This paper introduces an entropical framework to analyze opinion formation models, revealing how entropy-based regimes influence the emergence of a third opinion position through numerical simulations.

Contribution

It provides a unified entropy-based analysis of opinion dynamics, explaining non-monotonous behaviors and the emergence of a third opinion position.

Findings

Identified multiple entropical regimes in opinion models.

Maximum unpredictability regime fosters third position emergence.

System output diversity is linked to initial structural weaknesses.

Abstract

Characterization of complexity within the sociological interpretation has resulted in a large number of notions, which are relevant in different situations. From the statistical mechanics point of view, these notions resemble entropy. In a recent work, intriguing non-monotonous properties were observed in an opinion dynamics Sznajd model. These properties were found to be consequences of the hierarchical organization assumed for the system, though their nature remained unexplained. In the present work we bring an unified entropical framework that provides a deeper understanding of those system features. By perfoming numerical simulations, the system track probabilistic dependence on the initial structures is quantified in terms of entropy. Several entropical regimes are unveiled. The myriad of possible system outputs is enhanced within a maximum impredictability regime. A mutual structural weakness of the initial parties could be associated to this regime, fostering the emergence of a third position.