A class of models of opinion formation based on the concept of cellular automata and the theory of social impact is studied, in particular the case when a strong leader and external impact are present. The rapid changes of the opinion distribution with a continuous change of a system parameter,...

We study phase transitions in models of opinion formation which are based on the social impact theory. Two different models are discussed: (i) a cellular-automata-based model of a finite group with a strong leader where persons can change their opinions but not their spatial positions, and (ii)...