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Updated: May 22, 2025

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
Published on: January 19, 2019
Negative public opinion and minority-driven social change in hypergraphs.
Lulu Gong1, Changwei Huang1,2, Luoluo Jiang3
1School of Computer, Electronics and Information, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China.
A committed minority can overturn social norms by leveraging negative public opinion. An optimal range of negative influence and a smaller critical mass facilitate consensus, offering new insights into opinion dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Social dynamics
- Opinion formation
- Sociophysics
Background:
- Committed minorities can challenge and overturn established social norms.
- Understanding the role of public opinion in social change is crucial.
- Traditional models often overlook the impact of negative public sentiment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how negative public opinion influences social norm change.
- To explore the mechanisms by which a committed minority gains influence.
- To expand consensus formation models in diverse social environments.
Main Methods:
- Integrated negative public opinion into the traditional naming game model.
- Analyzed opinion propagation dynamics.
- Identified critical thresholds for social consensus.
Main Results:
- An optimal range of negative public opinion was found to facilitate minority influence.
- A smaller critical mass of committed individuals can trigger consensus.
- Negative public influence can effectively challenge the status quo.
Conclusions:
- Negative public opinion plays a significant role in social norm overturn.
- The findings offer a novel perspective on consensus formation in opinion dynamics.
- This mechanism is particularly relevant in diverse and complex social settings.
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