Dynamics of Indoctrination in Small Groups around Three Options

Abstract

In this work, we consider the dynamics of opinion among three parties: two small groups of agents and one very persuasive agent, the indoctrinator. Each party holds a position different from that of the others. In this situation, the opinion space is required to be a circle, on which the agents express their position regarding three different options. Initially, each group supports a unique position, and the indoctrinator tries to convince them to adopt her or his position. The interaction between the agents is in pairs and is modeled through a system of non-linear difference equations. Agents, in both groups, give a high weight to the opinion of the indoctrinator, while they give the same weight to the opinion of their peers. Through several computational experiments, we investigate the times required by the indoctrinator to convince both groups.

Keywords

• opinion dynamics
• non-linear difference equations
• indoctrination
• agent based model