Conformity and Mass Media Influence in the Sznajd Model on Regular Lattices

Abstract

The polarization of opinions and difficulties in reaching a consensus are central problems of many modern societies. Understanding the dynamics governing those processes is, therefore, one of the main aims of sociophysics. In this work, the Sznajd model of opinion dynamics is investigated with Monte Carlo simulations performed on four different regular lattices: triangular, honeycomb, and square with von Neumann or Moore neighborhood. The main objective is to discuss the interplay of the probability of convincing (conformity) and mass media (external) influence and to provide the details of the possible phase transitions. The results indicate that, while stronger bonds and openness to discussion and argumentation may help in reaching a consensus, external influence becomes destructive at different levels depending on the lattice.

Keywords

• opinion dynamics
• sociophysics
• phase transition
• consensus
• polarization
• Sznajd model