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Conformity cannot be identified based on population-level signatures.

Alberto Acerbi1, Edwin J C van Leeuwen2,3, Daniel B M Haun4

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Conformist transmission, copying the majority, may not always indicate a bias. Our model shows other strategies can create similar patterns, questioning previous findings on cultural diversity.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Behavioral ecology
  • Social learning theory

Background:

  • Conformist transmission, the tendency to copy the majority, is thought to drive cultural diversity.
  • Empirical identification of conformist transmission remains challenging across disciplines.
  • Population-level sigmoidal relationships are often used as evidence for conformist transmission.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether population-level sigmoidal patterns necessarily indicate conformist transmission.
  • To explore alternative individual-level strategies that might produce similar population-level outcomes.
  • To re-evaluate the empirical evidence for conformist transmission in humans and other animals.

Main Methods:

  • An individual-based model was employed to simulate social learning scenarios.
  • The model explored conditions where individuals copy randomly or exhibit variant preference.
  • Population-level outcomes were analyzed for sigmoidal relationships between copying probability and majority size.

Main Results:

  • A sigmoidal relationship, previously attributed to conformist transmission, can emerge without a conformist bias.
  • Random copying from a subset of demonstrators can yield similar sigmoidal patterns.
  • Preference for a specific variant also produces comparable population-level outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • The presence of a sigmoidal curve alone is insufficient evidence for conformist transmission.
  • Alternative individual-level strategies can explain population-level patterns attributed to conformist transmission.
  • Further empirical research is needed to confirm the existence of individual-level conformist bias.