1
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Olsson H, Galesic M. Analogies for modeling belief dynamics. Trends Cogn Sci 2024:S1364-6613(24)00172-4. [PMID: 39069399 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 07/03/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Belief dynamics has an important role in shaping our responses to natural and societal phenomena, ranging from climate change and pandemics to immigration and conflicts. Researchers often base their models of belief dynamics on analogies to other systems and processes, such as epidemics or ferromagnetism. Similar to other analogies, analogies for belief dynamics can help scientists notice and study properties of belief systems that they would not have noticed otherwise (conceptual mileage). However, forgetting the origins of an analogy may lead to some less appropriate inferences about belief dynamics (conceptual baggage). Here, we review various analogies for modeling belief dynamics, discuss their mileage and baggage, and offer recommendations for using analogies in model development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrik Olsson
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA; Complexity Science Hub, 1080 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Mirta Galesic
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA; Complexity Science Hub, 1080 Vienna, Austria; Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
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2
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Chimento M, Aplin LM. Understanding the Role of Naive Learners in Cultural Change. Am Nat 2024; 203:695-712. [PMID: 38781528 DOI: 10.1086/730110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
AbstractA change to a population's social network is a change to the substrate of cultural transmission, affecting behavioral diversity and adaptive cultural evolution. While features of network structure such as population size and density have been well studied, less is understood about the influence of social processes such as population turnover-or the repeated replacement of individuals by naive individuals. Experimental data have led to the hypothesis that naive learners can drive cultural evolution by better assessing the relative value of behaviors, although this hypothesis has been expressed only verbally. We conducted a formal exploration of this hypothesis using a generative model that concurrently simulated its two key ingredients: social transmission and reinforcement learning. We simulated competition between high- and low-reward behaviors while varying turnover magnitude and tempo. Variation in turnover influenced changes in the distributions of cultural behaviors, irrespective of initial knowledge-state conditions. We found optimal turnover regimes that amplified the production of higher reward behaviors through two key mechanisms: repertoire composition and enhanced valuation by agents that knew both behaviors. These effects depended on network and learning parameters. Our model provides formal theoretical support for, and predictions about, the hypothesis that naive learners can shape cultural change through their enhanced sampling ability. By moving from experimental data to theory, we illuminate an underdiscussed generative process that can lead to changes in cultural behavior, arising from an interaction between social dynamics and learning.
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3
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Gallarta-Sáenz P, Pérez-Martínez H, Gómez-Gardeñes J. Emergence of innovations in networked populations with reputation-driven interactions. CHAOS (WOODBURY, N.Y.) 2024; 34:033106. [PMID: 38437870 DOI: 10.1063/5.0189505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024]
Abstract
In this work, we analyze how reputation-based interactions influence the emergence of innovations. To do so, we make use of a dynamic model that mimics the discovery process by which, at each time step, a pair of individuals meet and merge their knowledge to eventually result in a novel technology of higher value. The way in which these pairs are brought together is found to be crucial for achieving the highest technological level. Our results show that when the influence of reputation is weak or moderate, it induces an acceleration of the discovery process with respect to the neutral case (purely random coupling). However, an excess of reputation is clearly detrimental, because it leads to an excessive concentration of knowledge in a small set of people, which prevents a diversification of the technologies discovered and, in addition, leads to societies in which a majority of individuals lack technical capabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Gallarta-Sáenz
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
- GOTHAM lab, Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Hugo Pérez-Martínez
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
- GOTHAM lab, Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Jesús Gómez-Gardeñes
- Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
- GOTHAM lab, Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
- Center for Computational Social Science, University of Kobe, 657-8501 Kobe, Japan
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4
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Baumann F, Czaplicka A, Rahwan I. Network structure shapes the impact of diversity in collective learning. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2491. [PMID: 38291091 PMCID: PMC10827803 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52837-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
It is widely believed that diversity arising from different skills enhances the performance of teams, and in particular, their ability to learn and innovate. However, diversity has also been associated with negative effects on the communication and coordination within collectives. Yet, despite the importance of diversity as a concept, we still lack a mechanistic understanding of how its impact is shaped by the underlying social network. To fill this gap, we model skill diversity within a simple model of collective learning and show that its effect on collective performance differs depending on the complexity of the task and the network density. In particular, we find that diversity consistently impairs performance in simple tasks. In contrast, in complex tasks, link density modifies the effect of diversity: while homogeneous populations outperform diverse ones in sparse networks, the opposite is true in dense networks, where diversity boosts collective performance. Our findings also provide insight on how to forge teams in an increasingly interconnected world: the more we are connected, the more we can benefit from diversity to solve complex problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Baumann
- Center for Humans and Machines, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Agnieszka Czaplicka
- Center for Humans and Machines, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Iyad Rahwan
- Center for Humans and Machines, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin, 14195, Germany.
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5
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Jang H, Ross CT, Boyette AH, Janmaat KR, Kandza V, Redhead D. Women's subsistence networks scaffold cultural transmission among BaYaka foragers in the Congo Basin. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj2543. [PMID: 38198536 PMCID: PMC10780863 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj2543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
In hunter-gatherer societies, women's subsistence activities are crucial for food provisioning and children's social learning but are understudied relative to men's activities. To understand the structure of women's foraging networks, we present 230 days of focal-follow data in a BaYaka community. To analyze these data, we develop a stochastic blockmodel for repeat observations with uneven sampling. We find that women's subsistence networks are characterized by cooperation between kin, gender homophily, and mixed age-group composition. During early childhood, individuals preferentially coforage with adult kin, but those in middle childhood and adolescence are likely to coforage with nonkin peers, providing opportunities for horizontal learning. By quantifying the probability of coforaging ties across age classes and relatedness levels, our findings provide insights into the scope for social learning during women's subsistence activities in a real-world foraging population and provide ground-truth values for key parameters used in formal models of cumulative culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haneul Jang
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse School of Economics, 1 Esplanade de l'Université, 31080 Toulouse cedex 06, France
| | - Cody T. Ross
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Adam H. Boyette
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Karline R.L. Janmaat
- Department of Evolutionary and Population Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Vidrige Kandza
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Daniel Redhead
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Sociology, University of Groningen, Grote Rozenstraat 31, 9712 TG Groningen, Netherlands
- Inter-University Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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6
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Zonker J, Padilla-Iglesias C, Djurdjevac Conrad N. Insights into drivers of mobility and cultural dynamics of African hunter-gatherers over the past 120 000 years. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230495. [PMID: 37920565 PMCID: PMC10618055 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Humans have a unique capacity to innovate, transmit and rely on complex, cumulative culture for survival. While an important body of work has attempted to explore the role of changes in the size and interconnectedness of populations in determining the persistence, diversity and complexity of material culture, results have achieved limited success in explaining the emergence and spatial distribution of cumulative culture over our evolutionary trajectory. Here, we develop a spatio-temporally explicit agent-based model to explore the role of environmentally driven changes in the population dynamics of hunter-gatherer communities in allowing the development, transmission and accumulation of complex culture. By modelling separately demography- and mobility-driven changes in interaction networks, we can assess the extent to which cultural change is driven by different types of population dynamics. We create and validate our model using empirical data from Central Africa spanning 120 000 years. We find that populations would have been able to maintain diverse and elaborate cultural repertoires despite abrupt environmental changes and demographic collapses by preventing isolation through mobility. However, we also reveal that the function of cultural features was also an essential determinant of the effects of environmental or demographic changes on their dynamics. Our work can therefore offer important insights into the role of a foraging lifestyle on the evolution of cumulative culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Zonker
- Zuse Institute Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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7
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Smolla M, Akçay E. Pathways to cultural adaptation: the coevolution of cumulative culture and social networks. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2023; 5:e26. [PMID: 37829290 PMCID: PMC10565192 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2023.21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans have adapted to an immense array of environments by accumulating culturally transmitted knowledge and skills. Adaptive culture can accumulate either via more distinct cultural traits or via improvements of existing cultural traits. The kind of culture that accumulates depends on, and coevolves with, the social structure of societies. Here, we show that the coevolution of learning networks and cumulative culture results in two distinct pathways to cultural adaptation: highly connected populations with high proficiency but low trait diversity vs. sparsely connected populations with low proficiency but higher trait diversity. Importantly, we show there is a conflict between group-level payoffs, which are maximised in highly connected groups that attain high proficiency, and individual level selection, which favours disconnection. This conflict emerges from the interaction of social learning with population structure and causes populations to cycle between the two cultural and network states. The same conflict creates a paradox where increasing innovation rate lowers group payoffs. Finally, we explore how populations navigate these two pathways in environments where payoffs differ among traits and can change over time, showing that high proficiency is favoured when payoffs are stable and vary strongly between traits, while frequent changes in trait payoffs favour more trait diversity. Our results illustrate the complex interplay between networks, learning and the environment, and so inform our understanding of human social evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Smolla
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Human Behaviour, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Erol Akçay
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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8
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Ogino M, Maldonado-Chaparro AA, Aplin LM, Farine DR. Group-level differences in social network structure remain repeatable after accounting for environmental drivers. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230340. [PMID: 37476518 PMCID: PMC10354494 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Individuals show consistent between-individual behavioural variation when they interact with conspecifics or heterospecifics. Such patterns might underlie emergent group-specific behavioural patterns and between-group behavioural differences. However, little is known about (i) how social and non-social drivers (external drivers) shape group-level social structures and (ii) whether animal groups show consistent between-group differences in social structure after accounting for external drivers. We used automated tracking to quantify daily social interactions and association networks in 12 colonies of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). We quantified the effects of five external drivers (group size, group composition, ecological factors, physical environments and methodological differences) on daily interaction and association networks and tested whether colonies expressed consistent differences in day-to-day network structure after controlling for these drivers. Overall, we found that external drivers contribute significantly to network structure. However, even after accounting for the contribution of external drivers, there remained significant support for consistent between-group differences in both interaction (repeatability R: up to 0.493) and association (repeatability R: up to 0.736) network structures. Our study demonstrates how group-level differences in social behaviour can be partitioned into different drivers of variation, with consistent contributions from both social and non-social factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mina Ogino
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz 78467, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich 8006, Switzerland
| | - Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz 78467, Germany
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, Cra 26 # 63B – 48, Colombia
| | - Lucy M. Aplin
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell 78315, Germany
| | - Damien R. Farine
- Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78464, Germany
- Department of Collective Behavior, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz 78467, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich 8006, Switzerland
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9
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Turner MA, Moya C, Smaldino PE, Jones JH. The form of uncertainty affects selection for social learning. EVOLUTIONARY HUMAN SCIENCES 2023; 5:e20. [PMID: 37587949 PMCID: PMC10426062 DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2023.11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Social learning is a critical adaptation for dealing with different forms of variability. Uncertainty is a severe form of variability where the space of possible decisions or probabilities of associated outcomes are unknown. We identified four theoretically important sources of uncertainty: temporal environmental variability; payoff ambiguity; selection-set size; and effective lifespan. When these combine, it is nearly impossible to fully learn about the environment. We develop an evolutionary agent-based model to test how each form of uncertainty affects the evolution of social learning. Agents perform one of several behaviours, modelled as a multi-armed bandit, to acquire payoffs. All agents learn about behavioural payoffs individually through an adaptive behaviour-choice model that uses a softmax decision rule. Use of vertical and oblique payoff-biased social learning evolved to serve as a scaffold for adaptive individual learning - they are not opposite strategies. Different types of uncertainty had varying effects. Temporal environmental variability suppressed social learning, whereas larger selection-set size promoted social learning, even when the environment changed frequently. Payoff ambiguity and lifespan interacted with other uncertainty parameters. This study begins to explain how social learning can predominate despite highly variable real-world environments when effective individual learning helps individuals recover from learning outdated social information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A. Turner
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
- Division of Social Sciences, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - Cristina Moya
- Department of Anthropology, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616 USA
| | - Paul E. Smaldino
- Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California at Merced, Merced, CA 95340 USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501 USA
- Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - James Holland Jones
- Department of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
- Division of Social Sciences, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
- Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
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10
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Galesic M, Barkoczi D, Berdahl AM, Biro D, Carbone G, Giannoccaro I, Goldstone RL, Gonzalez C, Kandler A, Kao AB, Kendal R, Kline M, Lee E, Massari GF, Mesoudi A, Olsson H, Pescetelli N, Sloman SJ, Smaldino PE, Stein DL. Beyond collective intelligence: Collective adaptation. J R Soc Interface 2023; 20:20220736. [PMID: 36946092 PMCID: PMC10031425 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2022.0736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
We develop a conceptual framework for studying collective adaptation in complex socio-cognitive systems, driven by dynamic interactions of social integration strategies, social environments and problem structures. Going beyond searching for 'intelligent' collectives, we integrate research from different disciplines and outline modelling approaches that can be used to begin answering questions such as why collectives sometimes fail to reach seemingly obvious solutions, how they change their strategies and network structures in response to different problems and how we can anticipate and perhaps change future harmful societal trajectories. We discuss the importance of considering path dependence, lack of optimization and collective myopia to understand the sometimes counterintuitive outcomes of collective adaptation. We call for a transdisciplinary, quantitative and societally useful social science that can help us to understand our rapidly changing and ever more complex societies, avoid collective disasters and reach the full potential of our ability to organize in adaptive collectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirta Galesic
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Complexity Science Hub Vienna, 1080 Vienna, Austria
- Vermont Complex Systems Center, University of Vermont, Burlington, VM 05405, USA
| | | | - Andrew M. Berdahl
- School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Dora Biro
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Giuseppe Carbone
- Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Politecnico di Bari, Bari 70125, Italy
| | - Ilaria Giannoccaro
- Department of Mechanics, Mathematics and Management, Politecnico di Bari, Bari 70125, Italy
| | - Robert L. Goldstone
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Cleotilde Gonzalez
- Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Anne Kandler
- Department of Mathematics, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Albert B. Kao
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA
| | - Rachel Kendal
- Centre for Coevolution of Biology and Culture, Durham University, Anthropology Department, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
| | - Michelle Kline
- Centre for Culture and Evolution, Division of Psychology, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, UK
| | - Eun Lee
- Department of Scientific Computing, Pukyong National University, 45 Yongso-ro, Nam-gu, Busan, 48513, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Alex Mesoudi
- Department of Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
| | | | | | - Sabina J. Sloman
- Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
- Department of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
| | - Paul E. Smaldino
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Daniel L. Stein
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
- Department of Physics and Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA
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11
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Perry SE, Carter A, Foster JG, Nöbel S, Smolla M. What Makes Inventions Become Traditions? ANNUAL REVIEW OF ANTHROPOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-anthro-012121-012127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Although anthropology was the first academic discipline to investigate cultural change, many other disciplines have made noteworthy contributions to understanding what influences the adoption of new behaviors. Drawing on a broad, interdisciplinary literature covering both humans and nonhumans, we examine ( a) which features of behavioral traits make them more transmissible, ( b) which individual characteristics of inventors promote copying of their inventions, ( c) which characteristics of individuals make them more prone to adopting new behaviors, ( d) which characteristics of dyadic relationships promote cultural transmission, ( e) which properties of groups (e.g., network structures) promote transmission of traits, and ( f) which characteristics of groups promote retention, rather than extinction, of cultural traits. One of anthropology's strengths is its readiness to adopt and improve theories and methods from other disciplines, integrating them into a more holistic approach; hence, we identify approaches that might be particularly useful to biological and cultural anthropologists, and knowledge gaps that should be filled.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan E. Perry
- Evolution and Culture Program, Department of Anthropology and Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Alecia Carter
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jacob G. Foster
- Department of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Sabine Nöbel
- Université Toulouse 1 Capitole and Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, Toulouse, France
- Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique, CNRS, UMR 5174, IRD, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Marco Smolla
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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12
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Falandays JB, Smaldino PE. The Emergence of Cultural Attractors: How Dynamic Populations of Learners Achieve Collective Cognitive Alignment. Cogn Sci 2022; 46:e13183. [PMID: 35972893 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
When a population exhibits collective cognitive alignment, such that group members tend to perceive, remember, and reproduce information in similar ways, the features of socially transmitted variants (i.e., artifacts, behaviors) may converge over time towards culture-specific equilibria points, often called cultural attractors. Because cognition may be plastic, shaped through experience with the cultural products of others, collective cognitive alignment and stable cultural attractors cannot always be taken for granted, but little is known about how these patterns first emerge and stabilize in initially uncoordinated populations. We propose that stable cultural attractors can emerge from general principles of human categorization and communication. We present a model of cultural attractor dynamics, which extends a model of unsupervised category learning in individuals to a multiagent setting wherein learners provide the training input to each other. Agents in our populations spontaneously align their cognitive category structures, producing emergent cultural attractor points. We highlight three interesting behaviors exhibited by our model: (1) noise enhances the stability of cultural category structures; (2) short 'critical' periods of learning early in life enhance stability; and (3) larger populations produce more stable but less complex attractor landscapes, and cliquish network structure can mitigate the latter effect. These results may shed light on how collective cognitive alignment is achieved in the absence of shared, innate cognitive attractors, which we suggest is important to the capacity for cumulative cultural evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Benjamin Falandays
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, United States.,Department of Cognitive Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, Brown University
| | - Paul E Smaldino
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, United States
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13
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Fernández-López de Pablo J, Romano V, Derex M, Gjesfjeld E, Gravel-Miguel C, Hamilton MJ, Migliano AB, Riede F, Lozano S. Understanding hunter-gatherer cultural evolution needs network thinking. Trends Ecol Evol 2022; 37:632-636. [PMID: 35659425 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Hunter-gatherers past and present live in complex societies, and the structure of these can be assessed using social networks. We outline how the integration of new evidence from cultural evolution experiments, computer simulations, ethnography, and archaeology open new research horizons to understand the role of social networks in cultural evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Fernández-López de Pablo
- I.U. de Investigación en Arqueología y Patrimonio Histórico, Edificio Institutos Universitarios, University of Alicante, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain.
| | - Valéria Romano
- I.U. de Investigación en Arqueología y Patrimonio Histórico, Edificio Institutos Universitarios, University of Alicante, 03690 San Vicente del Raspeig, Alicante, Spain; IMBE, Aix Marseille Université, Avignon Université, CNRS, IRD, Marseille, France
| | - Maxime Derex
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, UMR 5314, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Toulouse 31015, France
| | - Erik Gjesfjeld
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Downing St., CB2 3DZ Cambridge, UK
| | - Claudine Gravel-Miguel
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, PO Box 878404, Tempe, AZ 85287-8404, USA; Département d'Anthropologie, Université de Montréal, 2900 Edouard Montpetit Blvd., Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Marcus J Hamilton
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at San Antonio, 10 Cocke Drive, San Antonio, TX 78249, USA
| | - Andrea Bamberg Migliano
- Institute of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Felix Riede
- Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; BIOCHANGE - Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114-116, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Sergi Lozano
- Departament d'Història Econòmica, Institucions, Política i Economia Mundial, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Av. Diagonal 690, 08034, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat de Barcelona Institute of Complex Systems (UBICS), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Martí Franqués 1, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
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14
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Migliano AB, Vinicius L. The origins of human cumulative culture: from the foraging niche to collective intelligence. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200317. [PMID: 34894737 PMCID: PMC8666907 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Various studies have investigated cognitive mechanisms underlying culture in humans and other great apes. However, the adaptive reasons for the evolution of uniquely sophisticated cumulative culture in our species remain unclear. We propose that the cultural capabilities of humans are the evolutionary result of a stepwise transition from the ape-like lifestyle of earlier hominins to the foraging niche still observed in extant hunter-gatherers. Recent ethnographic, archaeological and genetic studies have provided compelling evidence that the components of the foraging niche (social egalitarianism, sexual and social division of labour, extensive co-residence and cooperation with unrelated individuals, multilocality, fluid sociality and high between-camp mobility) engendered a unique multilevel social structure where the cognitive mechanisms underlying cultural evolution (high-fidelity transmission, innovation, teaching, recombination, ratcheting) evolved as adaptations. Therefore, multilevel sociality underlies a 'social ratchet' or irreversible task specialization splitting the burden of cultural knowledge across individuals, which may explain why human collective intelligence is uniquely able to produce sophisticated cumulative culture. The foraging niche perspective may explain why a complex gene-culture dual inheritance system evolved uniquely in humans and interprets the cultural, morphological and genetic origins of Homo sapiens as a process of recombination of innovations appearing in differentiated but interconnected populations. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'The emergence of collective knowledge and cumulative culture in animals, humans and machines'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lucio Vinicius
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, ZH, Switzerland
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15
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Garg K, Padilla-Iglesias C, Restrepo Ochoa N, Knight VB. Hunter-gatherer foraging networks promote information transmission. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:211324. [PMID: 34950494 PMCID: PMC8692955 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Central-place foraging (CPF), where foragers return to a central location (or home), is a key feature of hunter-gatherer social organization. CPF could have significantly changed hunter-gatherers' spatial use and mobility, altered social networks and increased opportunities for information-exchange. We evaluated whether CPF patterns facilitate information-transmission and considered the potential roles of environmental conditions, mobility strategies and population sizes. We built an agent-based model of CPF where agents moved according to a simple optimal foraging rule, and could encounter other agents as they moved across the environment. They either foraged close to their home within a given radius or moved the location of their home to new areas. We analysed the interaction networks arising under different conditions and found that, at intermediate levels of environmental heterogeneity and mobility, CPF increased global and local network efficiencies as well as the rate of contagion-based information-transmission. We also found that central-place mobility strategies can further improve information transmission in larger populations. Our findings suggest that the combination of foraging and movement strategies, as well as the environmental conditions that characterized early human societies, may have been a crucial precursor in our species' unique capacity to innovate, accumulate and rely on complex culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ketika Garg
- Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, CA, USA
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16
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Ilany A, Holekamp KE, Akçay E. Rank-dependent social inheritance determines social network structure in spotted hyenas. Science 2021; 373:348-352. [PMID: 34437155 DOI: 10.1126/science.abc1966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The structure of animal social networks influences survival and reproductive success, as well as pathogen and information transmission. However, the general mechanisms determining social structure remain unclear. Using data from 73,767 social interactions among wild spotted hyenas collected over 27 years, we show that the process of social inheritance determines how offspring relationships are formed and maintained. Relationships between offspring and other hyenas bear resemblance to those of their mothers for as long as 6 years, and the degree of similarity increases with maternal social rank. Mother-offspring relationship strength affects social inheritance and is positively correlated with offspring longevity. These results support the hypothesis that social inheritance of relationships can structure animal social networks and be subject to adaptive tradeoffs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amiyaal Ilany
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel.
| | - Kay E Holekamp
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.,Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Erol Akçay
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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17
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Smolla M, Jansson F, Lehmann L, Houkes W, Weissing FJ, Hammerstein P, Dall SRX, Kuijper B, Enquist M. Underappreciated features of cultural evolution. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200259. [PMID: 33993758 PMCID: PMC8126466 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cultural evolution theory has long been inspired by evolutionary biology. Conceptual analogies between biological and cultural evolution have led to the adoption of a range of formal theoretical approaches from population dynamics and genetics. However, this has resulted in a research programme with a strong focus on cultural transmission. Here, we contrast biological with cultural evolution, and highlight aspects of cultural evolution that have not received sufficient attention previously. We outline possible implications for evolutionary dynamics and argue that not taking them into account will limit our understanding of cultural systems. We propose 12 key questions for future research, among which are calls to improve our understanding of the combinatorial properties of cultural innovation, and the role of development and life history in cultural dynamics. Finally, we discuss how this vibrant research field can make progress by embracing its multidisciplinary nature. This article is part of the theme issue 'Foundations of cultural evolution'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Smolla
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Fredrik Jansson
- Centre for Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Division of Applied Mathematics, Mälardalen University, Västerås, Sweden
| | - Laurent Lehmann
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Biophore, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Wybo Houkes
- Philosophy and Ethics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Franz J. Weissing
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Hammerstein
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sasha R. X. Dall
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Bram Kuijper
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, UK
| | - Magnus Enquist
- Centre for Cultural Evolution, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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18
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Perry S, Carter A, Smolla M, Akçay E, Nöbel S, Foster JG, Healy SD. Not by transmission alone: the role of invention in cultural evolution. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200049. [PMID: 33993757 PMCID: PMC8126456 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Innovation—the combination of invention and social learning—can empower species to invade new niches via cultural adaptation. Social learning has typically been regarded as the fundamental driver for the emergence of traditions and thus culture. Consequently, invention has been relatively understudied outside the human lineage—despite being the source of new traditions. This neglect leaves basic questions unanswered: what factors promote the creation of new ideas and practices? What affects their spread or loss? We critically review the existing literature, focusing on four levels of investigation: traits (what sorts of behaviours are easiest to invent?), individuals (what factors make some individuals more likely to be inventors?), ecological contexts (what aspects of the environment make invention or transmission more likely?), and populations (what features of relationships and societies promote the rise and spread of new inventions?). We aim to inspire new research by highlighting theoretical and empirical gaps in the study of innovation, focusing primarily on inventions in non-humans. Understanding the role of invention and innovation in the history of life requires a well-developed theoretical framework (which embraces cognitive processes) and a taxonomically broad, cross-species dataset that explicitly investigates inventions and their transmission. We outline such an agenda here. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Foundations of cultural evolution’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Perry
- Department of Anthropology, and Behavior, Evolution and Culture Program, 341 Haines Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Alecia Carter
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Montpellier, France.,Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Marco Smolla
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Erol Akçay
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sabine Nöbel
- Université Toulouse 1 Capitole and Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST), Toulouse, France.,Laboratoire Évolution et Diversité Biologique (EDB UMR 5174), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse, France
| | - Jacob G Foster
- Department of Sociology, 264 Haines Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Susan D Healy
- School of Biology, Harold Mitchell Building, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
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19
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Cantor M, Chimento M, Smeele SQ, He P, Papageorgiou D, Aplin LM, Farine DR. Social network architecture and the tempo of cumulative cultural evolution. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20203107. [PMID: 33715438 PMCID: PMC7944107 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.3107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to build upon previous knowledge-cumulative cultural evolution-is a hallmark of human societies. While cumulative cultural evolution depends on the interaction between social systems, cognition and the environment, there is increasing evidence that cumulative cultural evolution is facilitated by larger and more structured societies. However, such effects may be interlinked with patterns of social wiring, thus the relative importance of social network architecture as an additional factor shaping cumulative cultural evolution remains unclear. By simulating innovation and diffusion of cultural traits in populations with stereotyped social structures, we disentangle the relative contributions of network architecture from those of population size and connectivity. We demonstrate that while more structured networks, such as those found in multilevel societies, can promote the recombination of cultural traits into high-value products, they also hinder spread and make products more likely to go extinct. We find that transmission mechanisms are therefore critical in determining the outcomes of cumulative cultural evolution. Our results highlight the complex interaction between population size, structure and transmission mechanisms, with important implications for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio Cantor
- Department for the Ecology of Animal Societies, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell 78315, Konstanz, Germany.,Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil
| | - Michael Chimento
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell 78315, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Simeon Q Smeele
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell 78315, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Peng He
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Danai Papageorgiou
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lucy M Aplin
- Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell 78315, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Damien R Farine
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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20
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Sosa S, Jacoby DMP, Lihoreau M, Sueur C. Animal social networks: Towards an integrative framework embedding social interactions, space and time. Methods Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Sosa
- IPHC UMR 7178 CNRS Université de Strasbourg Strasbourg France
| | | | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA) Center for Integrative Biology (CBI) CNRS University Paul Sabatier – Toulouse III Toulouse France
| | - Cédric Sueur
- IPHC UMR 7178 CNRS Université de Strasbourg Strasbourg France
- Institut Universitaire de France Paris France
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21
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Molleman L, Tump AN, Gradassi A, Herzog S, Jayles B, Kurvers RHJM, van den Bos W. Strategies for integrating disparate social information. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20202413. [PMID: 33234085 PMCID: PMC7739494 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Social information use is widespread in the animal kingdom, helping individuals rapidly acquire useful knowledge and adjust to novel circumstances. In humans, the highly interconnected world provides ample opportunities to benefit from social information but also requires navigating complex social environments with people holding disparate or conflicting views. It is, however, still largely unclear how people integrate information from multiple social sources that (dis)agree with them, and among each other. We address this issue in three steps. First, we present a judgement task in which participants could adjust their judgements after observing the judgements of three peers. We experimentally varied the distribution of this social information, systematically manipulating its variance (extent of agreement among peers) and its skewness (peer judgements clustering either near or far from the participant's judgement). As expected, higher variance among peers reduced their impact on behaviour. Importantly, observing a single peer confirming a participant's own judgement markedly decreased the influence of other-more distant-peers. Second, we develop a framework for modelling the cognitive processes underlying the integration of disparate social information, combining Bayesian updating with simple heuristics. Our model accurately accounts for observed adjustment strategies and reveals that people particularly heed social information that confirms personal judgements. Moreover, the model exposes strong inter-individual differences in strategy use. Third, using simulations, we explore the possible implications of the observed strategies for belief updating. These simulations show how confirmation-based weighting can hamper the influence of disparate social information, exacerbate filter bubble effects and deepen group polarization. Overall, our results clarify what aspects of the social environment are, and are not, conducive to changing people's minds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas Molleman
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alan N. Tump
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andrea Gradassi
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Stefan Herzog
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bertrand Jayles
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ralf H. J. M. Kurvers
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Wouter van den Bos
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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22
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Peng H, Nematzadeh A, Romero DM, Ferrara E. Network modularity controls the speed of information diffusion. Phys Rev E 2020; 102:052316. [PMID: 33327110 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.102.052316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The rapid diffusion of information and the adoption of social behaviors are of critical importance in situations as diverse as collective actions, pandemic prevention, or advertising and marketing. Although the dynamics of large cascades have been extensively studied in various contexts, few have systematically examined the impact of network topology on the efficiency of information diffusion. Here, by employing the linear threshold model on networks with communities, we demonstrate that a prominent network feature-the modular structure-strongly affects the speed of information diffusion in complex contagion. Our simulations show that there always exists an optimal network modularity for the most efficient spreading process. Beyond this critical value, either a stronger or a weaker modular structure actually hinders the diffusion speed. These results are confirmed by an analytical approximation. We further demonstrate that the optimal modularity varies with both the seed size and the target cascade size and is ultimately dependent on the network under investigation. We underscore the importance of our findings in applications from marketing to epidemiology, from neuroscience to engineering, where the understanding of the structural design of complex systems focuses on the efficiency of information propagation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Peng
- School of Information, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | | | - Daniel M Romero
- School of Information, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Emilio Ferrara
- Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90292, USA
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23
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Brahm F, Poblete J. The evolution of productive organizations. Nat Hum Behav 2020; 5:39-48. [PMID: 32958900 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-020-00957-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Organizations devoted to the production of goods and services, such as guilds, partnerships and modern corporations, have dominated the economic landscape in our species' history. We develop an explanation for their evolution drawing from cultural evolution theory. A basic tenet of this theory is that social learning, under certain conditions, allows for the diffusion of innovations in society and, therefore, the accumulation of culture. Our model shows that these organizations provide such conditions by possessing two characteristics, both prevalent in real world organizations: exclusivity of membership and more effective social learning within their boundaries. The model and its extensions parsimoniously explain the cooperative nature of the social learning advantage, organizational specialization, organizational rigidity and the locus of innovation. We find supportive evidence for our predictions using a sample of premodern societies drawn from the Ethnographic Atlas. Understanding the nature of these organizations informs the debate about their role in society.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joaquin Poblete
- School of Management, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.,Instituto Sistemas Complejos de Ingeniería, Santiago, Chile
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24
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Derex M, Mesoudi A. Cumulative Cultural Evolution within Evolving Population Structures. Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:654-667. [PMID: 32466991 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Revised: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Our species has the peculiar ability to accumulate cultural innovations over multiple generations, a phenomenon termed 'cumulative cultural evolution' (CCE). Recent years have seen a proliferation of empirical and theoretical work exploring the interplay between demography and CCE. This has generated intense discussion about whether demographic models can help explain historical patterns of cultural changes. Here, we synthesize empirical and theoretical studies from multiple fields to highlight how both population size and structure can shape the pool of cultural information that individuals can build upon to innovate, present the potential pathways through which humans' unique social structure might promote CCE, and discuss whether humans' social networks might partly result from selection pressures linked to our extensive reliance on culturally accumulated knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Derex
- Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse, UMR 5314, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Toulouse 31015, France.
| | - Alex Mesoudi
- Human Behaviour and Cultural Evolution Group, Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK
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25
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Abstract
Strategic interactions arise in all domains of life. This form of competition often plays out in dynamically changing environments. The strategies employed in a population may alter the state of the environment, which may in turn feedback to change the incentive structure of strategic interactions. Feedbacks between strategies and the environment are common in social-ecological systems, evolutionary-ecological systems, and even psychological-economic systems. Here we develop a framework of 'eco-evolutionary game theory' that enables the study of strategic and environmental dynamics with feedbacks. We consider environments governed either by intrinsic growth, decay, or tipping points. We show how the joint dynamics of strategies and the environment depend on the incentives for individuals to lead or follow behavioral changes, and on the relative speed of environmental versus strategic change. Our analysis unites dynamical phenomena that occur in settings as diverse as human decision-making, plant nutrient acquisition, and resource harvesting. We discuss implications in fields ranging from ecology to economics.
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26
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Migliano AB, Battiston F, Viguier S, Page AE, Dyble M, Schlaepfer R, Smith D, Astete L, Ngales M, Gomez-Gardenes J, Latora V, Vinicius L. Hunter-gatherer multilevel sociality accelerates cumulative cultural evolution. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaax5913. [PMID: 32158935 PMCID: PMC7048420 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax5913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/10/2019] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Although multilevel sociality is a universal feature of human social organization, its functional relevance remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of multilevel sociality on cumulative cultural evolution by using wireless sensing technology to map inter- and intraband social networks among Agta hunter-gatherers. By simulating the accumulation of cultural innovations over the real Agta multicamp networks, we demonstrate that multilevel sociality accelerates cultural differentiation and cumulative cultural evolution. Our results suggest that hunter-gatherer social structures [based on (i) clustering of families within camps and camps within regions, (ii) cultural transmission within kinship networks, and (iii) high intercamp mobility] may have allowed past and present hunter-gatherers to maintain cumulative cultural adaptation despite low population density, a feature that may have been critical in facilitating the global expansion of Homo sapiens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea B. Migliano
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Federico Battiston
- Department of Network and Data Science, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Sylvain Viguier
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Abigail E. Page
- Department of Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Mark Dyble
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Jesus College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Daniel Smith
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Leonora Astete
- Community Outreach and Services Learning, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Manila, Philippines
| | - Marilyn Ngales
- Community Outreach and Services Learning, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Manila, Philippines
| | - Jesus Gomez-Gardenes
- GOTHAM Lab, Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems, and Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
- Center for Computational Social Science (CCSS), Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Vito Latora
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Dipartimento di Fisica ed Astronomia, Università di Catania and INFN, Catania, Italy
- Complexity Science Hub Vienna (CSHV), Vienna, Austria
- The Alan Turing Institute, The British Library, London, UK
| | - Lucio Vinicius
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
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