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Cognitive requirements for hawk-dove games: A functional analysis for evolutionary design.
Tomonori Morikawa1, James E Hanley, John Orbell
1Center for International Education, Waseda University, 1-7-14-404, Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku-ku Tokyo, Japan. goducks1221@hotmail.com.
Summary
Humans evolved cognitive mechanisms for social games like hawk-dove. This study identifies the optimal number of recognition orders (four) for adaptive game playing, suggesting simpler recognition evolved first.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary psychology
- Game theory
- Cognitive science
Background:
- Social animals, including humans, engage in adaptively significant games.
- Evolutionary theory posits specialized cognitive mechanisms for social game playing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To perform a functional analysis of the information requirements for playing the hawk-dove conflict-of-interest game.
- To determine the adaptive advantages of different orders of recognition in social game playing.
Main Methods:
- Functional analysis of information requirements.
- Development of novel graphic conventions for representing recognition orders.
- Analysis of adaptive advantages for successive orders of recognition.
Main Results:
- Identified adaptive advantages for first, second, third, and fourth orders of recognition in the hawk-dove game.
- Demonstrated that advantages cease beyond the fourth order of recognition.
- Proposed a hierarchy of cognitive evolution, with first-order recognition being the most basic and likely earliest to evolve.
Conclusions:
- The hawk-dove game necessitates specific orders of recognition for successful play.
- Cognitive capacities for social game playing evolved incrementally, with higher-order recognition developing after basic forms.
- Understanding these cognitive requirements offers insights into the evolution of social intelligence.