Ratio-Dependent Contrarian Activation in Opinion Dynamics

I study the impact of mixed contrarians on the opinion dynamics of a heterogenous population with conformists using the Galam Majority Model. Activation of contrarians is a function of the majority/minority ratio in the local groups of discussion. Restricting the group size to 3, two types of contrarians are included in respective proportions c3,0 for configurations with ratio 3 to 0 and c2,1 for ratio 2 to 1. I then derive the explicit update equation and analytically obtain the fixed points, their stability, and the resulting full two-dimensional landscape of the dynamics of opinion. Setting c3,0=c2,1=c recovers the original results obtained with uniform contrarians. The findings allow for considering a wide spectrum of new disruptive strategies to secure either a majority/minority ending ensuring the opinion having the larger initial support to win, or a single attractor dynamics at fifty/fifty, which implies a random winner regardless of initial supports.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Entropy
Published
2026-04-14
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/e28040443
Primary Topic
Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Ratio-Dependent Contrarian Activation in Opinion Dynamics

Serge Galam
Entropy
Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence
article

Ratio-Dependent Contrarian Activation in Opinion Dynamics

Serge Galam
article en

Abstract

I study the impact of mixed contrarians on the opinion dynamics of a heterogenous population with conformists using the Galam Majority Model. Activation of contrarians is a function of the majority/minority ratio in the local groups of discussion. Restricting the group size to 3, two types of contrarians are included in respective proportions c3,0 for configurations with ratio 3 to 0 and c2,1 for ratio 2 to 1. I then derive the explicit update equation and analytically obtain the fixed points, their stability, and the resulting full two-dimensional landscape of the dynamics of opinion. Setting c3,0=c2,1=c recovers the original results obtained with uniform contrarians. The findings allow for considering a wide spectrum of new disruptive strategies to secure either a majority/minority ending ensuring the opinion having the larger initial support to win, or a single attractor dynamics at fifty/fifty, which implies a random winner regardless of initial supports.

EntropyVol. 28(4)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Centre de Recherches Politiques de Sciences Po (FR)
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 22%
Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.