Entropy (Mar 2024)

Chaos in Opinion-Driven Disease Dynamics

  • Thomas Götz,
  • Tyll Krüger,
  • Karol Niedzielewski,
  • Radomir Pestow,
  • Moritz Schäfer,
  • Jan Schneider

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/e26040298
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 26, no. 4
p. 298

Abstract

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, it became evident that the effectiveness of applying intervention measures is significantly influenced by societal acceptance, which, in turn, is affected by the processes of opinion formation. This article explores one among the many possibilities of coupled opinion–epidemic systems. The findings reveal either intricate periodic patterns or chaotic dynamics, leading to substantial fluctuations in opinion distribution and, consequently, significant variations in the total number of infections over time. Interestingly, the model exhibits a protective pattern.

Keywords