Dynamical system model predicts when social learners impair collective performance.

ABSTRACT: A key question concerning collective decisions is whether a social system can settle on the best available option when some members learn from others instead of evaluating the options on their own. This question is challenging to study, and previous research has reached mixed conclusions, because collective decision outcomes depend on the insufficiently understood complex system of cognitive strategies, task properties, and social influence processes. This study integrates these complex interactions together in one general yet partially analytically tractable mathematical framework using a dynamical system model. In particular, it investigates how the interplay of the proportion of social learners, the relative merit of options, and the type of conformity response affect collective decisio

SUBMITTER: Yang VC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8536379 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature