Modelling opinion formation by means of kinetic equations

Abstract

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. New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common. John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.