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Specialization and selective social attention establishes the balance between individual and social learning

View ORCID ProfileCharley M. Wu, View ORCID ProfileMark K. Ho, Benjamin Kahl, View ORCID ProfileChristina Leuker, View ORCID ProfileBjörn Meder, View ORCID ProfileRalf H.J.M. Kurvers
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.03.429553
Charley M. Wu
1Human and Machine Cognition Lab, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
2Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin Germany
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Mark K. Ho
3Department of Computer Science, Princeton University, Princeton, USA
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Benjamin Kahl
2Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin Germany
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Christina Leuker
2Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin Germany
4Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany
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Björn Meder
2Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin Germany
5Health and Medical University Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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Ralf H.J.M. Kurvers
2Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin Germany
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Abstract

A key question individuals face in any social learning environment is when to innovate alone and when to imitate others. Previous simulation results have found that the best performing groups exhibit an intermediate balance, yet it is still largely unknown how individuals collectively negotiate this balance. We use an immersive collective foraging experiment, implemented in the Minecraft game engine, facilitating unprecedented access to spatial trajectories and visual field data. The virtual environment imposes a limited field of view, creating a natural trade-off between allocating visual attention towards individual innovation or to look towards peers for social imitation. By analyzing foraging patterns, social interactions (visual and spatial), and social influence, we shine new light on how groups collectively adapt to the fluctuating demands of the environment through specialization and selective imitation, rather than homogeneity and indiscriminate copying of others.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • (charley.wu{at}uni-tuebingen.de)

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted February 03, 2021.
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Specialization and selective social attention establishes the balance between individual and social learning
Charley M. Wu, Mark K. Ho, Benjamin Kahl, Christina Leuker, Björn Meder, Ralf H.J.M. Kurvers
bioRxiv 2021.02.03.429553; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.03.429553
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Specialization and selective social attention establishes the balance between individual and social learning
Charley M. Wu, Mark K. Ho, Benjamin Kahl, Christina Leuker, Björn Meder, Ralf H.J.M. Kurvers
bioRxiv 2021.02.03.429553; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.02.03.429553

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