Modelling opinion formation by means of kinetic equations

Laurent Boudin (1, 2) , Francesco Salvarani (3)

1 LJLL - Laboratoire Jacques-Louis Lions
2 REO - Numerical simulation of biological flows
3 Dipartimento di matematica F. Casorati

In this chapter, we review some mechanisms of opinion dynamics that can be modelled by kinetic equations. Beside the sociological phenomenon of compromise, naturally linked to collisional operators of Boltzmann kind, many other aspects, already mentioned in the sociophysical literature or no, can enter in this framework. While describing some contributions appeared in the literature, we enlighten some mathematical tools of kinetic theory that can be useful in the context of sociophysics.

Mots clés: Sociophysics; opinion formation; kinetic theory

Domaines: Equations aux dérivées partielles [math.AP]; Sociologie

Laurent Boudin, Francesco Salvarani. Modelling opinion formation by means of kinetic equations. Mathematical Modeling of Collective Behavior in Socio-Economic and Life Sciences, Springer, pp.245-270, 2010, ⟨10.1007/978-0-8176-4946-3_10⟩. ⟨hal-00447659⟩