Dynamics of coupled implicit and explicit opinions (Q6585379)

The paper studies dynamics of coupled implicit and explicit opinions. It considers a co-evolutionary model of dual opinions, where each individual has implicit and explicit opinions of an object simultaneously. The evolution of implicit opinions follows the biased assimilation model, in which individuals process new information in a biased way to support their evaluation. The explicit opinions are consciously activated to conform to public opinion and are tightly coupled with implicit opinions. The paper analyzes the dual opinions dynamics model on the two-island networks in an adversarial discussion scenario, where two opposing groups participate in the discussion. It distinguishes between three degrees of individual bias, i.e., slight, moderate, and extreme bias. It is shown that explicit opinions are always more neutral than implicit ones and will never converge to the extreme states in evolution.