Understanding Group Polarization with Bipolar Argumentation Frameworks

Group polarization occurs when an initial attitude or belief of individuals becomes more radical after group discussion. Polarization often leads subgroups towards opposite directions. Since the 1960s this effect has been observed and repeatedly confirmed in lab experiments by social psychologists. Persuasive Arguments Theory (PAT) emerged as the most convincing explanation for this phenomenon. This paper is a first attempt to frame the PAT explanation more formally by means of Bipolar Argumentation Frameworks (BAFs). In particular, I show that polarization may emerge in a BAF by simple and rational belief updates by participants.