Expression dynamics of minority opinion in homophily-oriented networks

Abstract

Minorities may remain silent for fear of social isolation. According to the spiral of silence theory, minority groups underestimate their numbers in society. This underestimation leads minorities to speak up less and other minorities to feel less supported, so minorities get caught in a spiral of silence. They can break out of this spiral by uniting with each other. People seek similarity in their relationships, and this is referred to as homophily in the literature. Under homophily, people can end their relationships with different people and establish new relationships with like-minded people. These dynamic networks are called homophily-oriented (H-O) networks. We investigate the expression dynamics of the minority opinion in H-O networks using the agent-based modeling approach, where we represent people as agents and the relationships between them as links. In a case where agents end their relationships with the opposing side but build relationships with anyone, we found that the minority can oppress the majority by distorting the perceptions of majority members because minorities increase their opinion expression probability by lowering their expectations in the first place. When agents connect directly with like-minded agents; they create echo chambers, and both majorities and minorities can be fully expressive. We then introduce new agent types into the model, representing three types of people: hardcore agents are always expressive minorities, loyal agents do not change their social circle but their expression decisions, and valiant agents are both expressive and loyal minorities. Minorities’ loyalty to their social environment sabotages their expression in H-O networks but reduces echo chambers. Hardcore agents and valiant agents increase minority expression in static networks; in H-O networks, minority expression is already at its maximum, so they cannot increase it but valiant agents can decrease segregation in societies.