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Evolution of prosocial behaviours in multilayer populations
Qi Su1,2,3, Alex McAvoy4,5, Yoichiro Mori6,7,8
1Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA. qisu1991@sas.upenn.edu.
Nature Human Behaviour
|January 4, 2022
Summary
Multilayer social networks, which model diverse interaction domains, can promote prosocial behavior. Even when not favored in individual layers, network coupling can foster cooperation across all social environments.
Area of Science:
- Social network analysis
- Sociology
- Network science
Background:
- Human societies feature diverse social relationships across multiple domains (e.g., friends, family, professional, online).
- Individuals may exhibit different behaviors in different social contexts, yet success in one domain can influence another.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how multiple domains of social interaction influence individual behavior using multilayer network models.
- To determine if coupling between different social layers can promote prosocial behavior.
Main Methods:
- Mathematical analysis of multilayer networks representing multiple social domains.
- Application of the model to six real-world multilayer networks, including socio-emotional, professional, online, and offline relationships.
Main Results:
- Coupling between network layers tends to promote prosocial behavior.
- Multilayer coupling can facilitate the proliferation of prosociality across all layers, even if it is disfavored in individual layers.
- Observed effects in diverse real-world networks, from community relationships to academic settings.
Conclusions:
- Interconnected social domains can collectively foster prosocial behavior.
- Targeted interventions in one social layer may catalyze positive behavioral changes in other interconnected layers.
- Understanding multilayer social dynamics is key to promoting cooperation in complex human societies.
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