The role of conformity in opinion dynamics modelling with multiple social circles

TL;DR

This work proposes a model incorporating conformism in which a person can share different continuous opinions on different layers depending on the social circle, and extends the model with more components that are known to influence opinions.

Abstract

Interaction with others influences our opinions and behaviours. Our activities within various social circles lead to different opinions expressed in various situations, groups, and ways of communication. Earlier studies on agent-based modelling of conformism within networks were based on a single-layer approach. Contrary to that, in this work, we propose a model incorporating conformism in which a person can share different continuous opinions on different layers depending on the social circle. Afterwards, we extend the model with more components that are known to influence opinions, e.g. authority or openness to new views. These two models are then compared to show that only sole conformism leads to opinion convergence.