The Statistical Description of Polarization Phenomena in Society†

Statistical models based on probability laws, and originally used for the description of the dynamic development of an ensemble of interacting spins, are reformulated in order to study the structure of social groups of individuals mutually influencing each other with respect to their decision behaviour. After a description of the general features of these models, and relating them to the polarization phenomena in society, a quantitative model is developed which can be compared with the decision behaviour of social groups.