Effect of three-stage cascade of opinion dynamics models in coupled networks

Information technology has contributed to the spread of public opinion across multiple coupled networks, and the scope of information spread has expanded. Owing to the impact of personal subjective cognition, information attenuation occurs during the process of opinion transmission in social networks, particularly in multi-layer social networks. In this paper, we construct a three-stage cascade opinion dynamics model, based on the Hegselmann–Krause (HK) model, to analyze the effect of information dissemination attenuation on group decision behavior in coupled social networks. This model considers three-stage cascade information transmission and two competitive opinion leader subgroups in two different social network environments, and can describe a public opinion dissemination environment more closely. The results show that the combination of the network structure and the level of trust of the public can effectively guide the spread of public opinion, which provides valuable insights into the role of social media in shaping public opinion and its impact on various fields. These findings can be useful for advertisers and policymakers to control public opinion and reach a consensus in group decision-making.