This paper focuses on the dynamics of binary opinions {＋1,-1} on online social networks consisting of heterogeneous actors. In our model, actors update their opinions under the interplay of social influence and self-...This paper focuses on the dynamics of binary opinions {＋1,-1} on online social networks consisting of heterogeneous actors. In our model, actors update their opinions under the interplay of social influence and self- affirmation, which leads to rich dynamical behaviors on online social networks. We find that the opinion leading to the consensus features an advantage of the initially weighted fraction based on actors＇ strength over the other, instead of the population. For the role of specific actors, the consensus converges towards the opinion that a small fraction of high-strength actors hold, and individual diversity of self-amrmation slows down the ordering process of consensus. These indicate that high-strength actors play an essential role in opinion formation with strong social influence as well as high persistence. Further investigations show that the initial fraction of high-strength actors to dominate the evolution depends on the heterogeneity of the strength distribution, and less high-strength actors are needed in the case of a smaller exponent of power-law distribution of actors＇ strength. Our study provides deep insights into the role of social influence and self-affirmation on opinion formation on online social networks.展开更多
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 60902094,60903225Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China under Grant No. 20114307110008
文摘This paper focuses on the dynamics of binary opinions {＋1,-1} on online social networks consisting of heterogeneous actors. In our model, actors update their opinions under the interplay of social influence and self- affirmation, which leads to rich dynamical behaviors on online social networks. We find that the opinion leading to the consensus features an advantage of the initially weighted fraction based on actors＇ strength over the other, instead of the population. For the role of specific actors, the consensus converges towards the opinion that a small fraction of high-strength actors hold, and individual diversity of self-amrmation slows down the ordering process of consensus. These indicate that high-strength actors play an essential role in opinion formation with strong social influence as well as high persistence. Further investigations show that the initial fraction of high-strength actors to dominate the evolution depends on the heterogeneity of the strength distribution, and less high-strength actors are needed in the case of a smaller exponent of power-law distribution of actors＇ strength. Our study provides deep insights into the role of social influence and self-affirmation on opinion formation on online social networks.
