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The evolution of homophily.

Feng Fu¹, Martin A Nowak, Nicholas A Christakis

¹Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

Scientific Reports

|November 15, 2012

Summary

Homophily, the tendency for individuals to interact with similar others, evolves through natural selection. This study models how preferences for interacting with similar phenotypes can arise, explaining its widespread occurrence in nature.

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Behavioral Ecology
Theoretical Ecology

Background:

Assortative mating (homogamy) is well-studied, focusing on mating between similar individuals.
Homophily, the broader tendency to interact with similar others, is prevalent in nature but less theoretically explored.
Understanding homophily is crucial for comprehending social behavior in diverse species.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a theoretical model explaining the evolution of homophily through natural selection.
To investigate how individual preferences for interaction influence the emergence of homophily.
To provide a framework for understanding the ubiquity of homophilous interactions in natural populations.

Main Methods:

Mathematical modeling of social interactions in a population with multiple observable phenotypes.

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Incorporation of individual preferences for interacting with similar (homophily) or dissimilar (heterophily) phenotypes.

Analysis of how natural selection shapes these interaction preferences based on interaction payoffs.

Main Results:

Homophily tends to evolve under a wide range of conditions.
The model demonstrates that selection can favor preferences for interacting with similar individuals.
Interaction payoffs based on phenotype similarity are key drivers for homophily's evolution.

Conclusions:

Natural selection can readily generate homophilous behavior.
Homophily is a significant evolutionary outcome of social interactions in populations with diverse phenotypes.
This work provides a theoretical foundation for the widespread observation of homophily in the natural world.