?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Feprints.imtlucca.it%2F2121%2F&rft.title=Rooting+opinions+in+the+minds%3A+a+cognitive+model+and+a+formal+account+of+opinions+and+their+dynamics&rft.creator=Giardini%2C+Francesca&rft.creator=Quattrociocchi%2C+Walter&rft.creator=Conte%2C+Rosaria&rft.subject=QA75+Electronic+computers.+Computer+science&rft.description=The+study+of+opinions%2C+their+formation+and+change%2C+is+one+of+the+defining+topics+addressed+by+social+psychology%2C+but+in+recent+years+other+disciplines%2C+like+computer+science+and+complexity%2C+have+tried+to+deal+with+this+issue.+Despite+the+flourishing+of+different+models+and+theories+in+both+fields%2C+several+key+questions+still+remain+unanswered.+The+understanding+of+how+opinions+change+and+the+way+they+are+affected+by+social+influence+are+challenging+issues+requiring+a+thorough+analysis+of+opinion+per+se+but+also+of+the+way+in+which+they+travel+between+agents'+minds+and+are+modulated+by+these+exchanges.+To+account+for+the+two-faceted+nature+of+opinions%2C+which+are+mental+entities+undergoing+complex+social+processes%2C+we+outline+a+preliminary+model+in+which+a+cognitive+theory+of+opinions+is+put+forward+and+it+is+paired+with+a+formal+description+of+them+and+of+their+spreading+among+minds.+Furthermore%2C+investigating+social+influence+also+implies+the+necessity+to+account+for+the+way+in+which+people+change+their+minds%2C+as+a+consequence+of+interacting+with+other+people%2C+and+the+need+to+explain+the+higher+or+lower+persistence+of+such+changes.+&rft.publisher=ArXiv&rft.date=2011&rft.type=Working+Paper&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.identifier=++Giardini%2C+Francesca+and+Quattrociocchi%2C+Walter+and+Conte%2C+Rosaria++Rooting+opinions+in+the+minds%3A+a+cognitive+model+and+a+formal+account+of+opinions+and+their+dynamics.++Working+Paper++%23+%2F2011++++ArXiv+++++++(Submitted)+++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Farxiv.org%2Fabs%2F1106.4218