CoDiNG -- Naming Game with Continuous Latent Opinions of Individual Agents

TL;DR

This paper introduces a hybrid continuous-discrete opinion model inspired by cognitive science and social network analysis, which better captures real-world opinion dynamics than traditional models.

Contribution

It presents a novel hybrid model combining continuous latent opinions with discrete expressed opinions, reflecting cognitive and social processes in opinion formation.

Findings

Outperforms classic Naming Game in real data scenarios

More accurately models the transition from internal beliefs to public expressions

Reflects cognitive memory processes in opinion dynamics

Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms behind opinion formation is crucial for gaining insight into the processes that shape political beliefs, cultural attitudes, consumer choices, and social movements. This work aims to explore a nuanced model that captures the intricacies of real-world opinion dynamics by synthesizing principles from cognitive science and employing social network analysis. The proposed model is a hybrid continuous-discrete extension of the well-known Naming Game opinion model. The added latent continuous layer of opinion strength follows cognitive processes in the human brain, akin to memory imprints. The discrete layer allows for the conversion of intrinsic continuous opinion into discrete form, which often occurs when we publicly verbalize our opinions. We evaluated our model using real data as ground truth and demonstrated that the proposed mechanism outperforms the classic Naming Game model in many cases, reflecting that our model is closer to the real process of opinion formation.