Small-world topology and memory effects on decision time in opinion dynamics

Using the Sznajd-Weron model as a starting point, we analyzed the effect on the statistical properties of this model under changes in the connectivity of the network and under the introduction of memory to the units, as well as by introducing a communication error that influences the way a unit adopts its state: whether from the model rules or at random. We used the synchronous update to analyze and discuss the effects of the above mentioned changes on the statistical properties of the model, such as both distributions of relaxation times and decision times. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.