2015/11/13 by Majmudar, Jimit, Krone, Stephen M., Baumgaertner, Bert O. +1 · 1 citation
#FOS: Computer and information sciences #FOS: Mathematics #FOS: Physical sciences #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #Probability (math.PR) #Social and Information Networks (cs.SI)
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1511.04160
In this paper, we extend the voter model (VM) and the threshold voter model (TVM) to include external influences modelled as a jump process. We study the newly-formulated models both analytically and computationally, employing diffusion approximations and mean field approximations. We derive results pertaining to the probability of reaching consensus on a particular opinion and also the expected consensus time. We find that although including an external influence leads to a faster consensus in general, this effect is more pronounced in the VM as compared to the TVM. Our findings suggest the potential importance of "macro-level" phenomena such as the external influences as compared to "micro-level" local interactions.