title: Modeling belief systems with scale-free networks.
abstract: The evolution of belief systems has always been a focus of cognitive research. In this paper, we delineate a new model describing belief systems as a network of statements considered true. Testing the model with a small number of parameters enabled us to reproduce a variety of well-known mechanisms ranging from opinion changes to development of psychological problems. The self-organizing opinion structure showed a scale-free degree distribution. The novelty of our work lies in applying a convenient set of definitions allowing us to depict opinion network dynamics in a highly favorable way, which resulted in a scale-free belief network. As an additional benefit, we listed several conjectural consequences in a number of areas related to thinking and reasoning.
authors.affiliation: Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Environmental Economics, H-1111, Sztoczek u. 2, Budapest, Hungary. antalmi@gmail.com
authors.forename: Miklós
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Antal
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Balogh
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D003142:Communication; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003469:Culture; D017143:Fuzzy Logic; D008959:Models, Neurological; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D011584:Psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results