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The evolution of similarity-biased social learning
Paul E Smaldino1,2, Alejandro Pérez Velilla1
1Department of Cognitive & Information Sciences, University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, USA.
Evolutionary Human Sciences
|February 26, 2025
Summary
Similarity-biased social learning, or parochial social learning, persists because it is adaptive when individual learning is error-prone and group diversity hinders learning from unknown sources, provided identity signals are reliable.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary psychology
- Social learning theory
- Behavioral economics
Background:
- Humans exhibit ingroup favoritism in social learning, preferentially learning from those with shared identities.
- This bias can lead to negative societal consequences like polarization and reduced information access.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the adaptive persistence of similarity-biased social learning.
- To identify the conditions under which parochial social learning is evolutionarily advantageous.
Main Methods:
- Utilized evolutionary simulations to model social learning strategies.
- Compared similarity-biased learning with conformist and pay-off-biased transmission.
Main Results:
- Parochial social learning is adaptive when individual learning is error-prone.
- It is also favored when group diversity impedes learning from non-identity cues.
- The reliability of identity signals as indicators of adaptive behavior is crucial.
Conclusions:
- Similarity-biased social learning is an evolutionarily stable strategy under specific conditions.
- Understanding these conditions is key to addressing modern-day diversity challenges and cultural divides.
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