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Weak individual preferences stabilize culture.

Alberto Acerbi1, Benoît de Courson2

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Individual preferences, not just social influence, shape cultural evolution. Weak individual traits can become dominant through social dynamics, explaining cross-cultural regularities.

Keywords:
cultural evolutioncultural transmissionmodellingsocial influence

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Area of Science:

  • Cultural Evolution Theory
  • Social Influence Dynamics
  • Cognitive Predispositions

Background:

  • Cultural success is influenced by numerous factors, but general rules governing trait success remain debated.
  • Cultural evolution research differentiates social influence (e.g., majority copying) from individual, non-social factors (e.g., cognitive biases, environmental constraints).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of individual, non-socially influenced preferences in cultural evolution.
  • To determine how individual preferences interact with social influence to shape cultural dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Employed analytical models to simulate cultural evolution.
  • Utilized individual-based modeling to explore trait dynamics under varying conditions.
  • Examined scenarios combining individual preferences with nondirectional social influence.

Main Results:

  • Individual preferences significantly determine cultural dynamics, even when weak, in three out of four simulated cases.
  • Nondirectional social influence amplifies the impact of individual preferences on cultural trait adoption.
  • The interplay between individual and social factors dictates the equilibrium of cultural traits.

Conclusions:

  • Emphasizes the critical importance of individual-level, non-social factors in understanding cultural evolution.
  • Suggests that cross-cultural regularities can emerge from weak directional forces amplified by social influence.
  • Highlights the need to integrate both individual predispositions and social dynamics for a comprehensive view of cultural change.