Coordination of network heterogeneity and individual preferences promotes collective fairness.

ABSTRACT: There are intensive debates about whether heterogeneous networks promote prosocial behaviors such as fairness and cooperation. Theoretical models predict that network heterogeneity plays a positive role, but this prediction has not been validated by experiments. We reconcile this debate by conducting experiments with two-stage ultimatum games on networks. In the first stage, we identify responders with strong fairness preferences, referred to as leaders. In the second stage, when leaders occupy high-degree nodes in a heterogeneous network, their ability to motivate fairness among neighboring proposers is amplified, and collective fairness is facilitated. We propose an evolutionary game model and an agent-based simulation framework that capture the microscopic mechanisms underlying the netw

SUBMITTER: Han X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12664973 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature