Microcanonical Monte Carlo simulation of opinion dynamics under the influence of mass media

TL;DR

This paper models opinion formation influenced by mass media using a microcanonical Monte Carlo simulation of an extended Potts model, revealing metastable states and the conditions under which large opposing opinion groups are stable.

Contribution

It extends a two-dimensional Potts model to include mass media influence as an external field, providing new insights into opinion cluster stability.

Findings

Metastable opinion clusters form under opposing influences.

Single-opinion clusters dominate at certain energy levels.

Large opposing groups are not thermodynamically stable.

Abstract

The formation of large social groups having uniform opinions influenced by mass media is currently an important topic in the social sciences. In this work, we explore and extend an off-lattice, two-dimensional Potts model (Eur. Phys. J. B 87, 78 [2014]) that describes the formation and dynamics of opinions in social groups according to individual consequence and agreement between neighbors. This model was originally obtained by the application of the maximum entropy principle, a general method in statistical inference, and using the same methodology we have now included the influence of mass media as a constant external field. By means of microcanonical Monte Carlo Metropolis simulations on a setup with two regions with opposing external influences, we have shown the presence of metastable states associated to the formation of clusters aligned with the locally imposed opinion. Our results suggest that, for some values of the total energy of the system, only a single cluster with a uniform opinion survives, thus the presence of two large, opposing groups is not a thermodynamically stable configuration.