Simulated Trust: A cheap social learning strategy

Authored by Dieter Vanderelst, Rene M. C. Ahn, Emilia I. Barakova

Date Published: 2009-11

DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2009.07.001

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Animals use heuristic strategies to determine from which conspecifics to learn socially. This leads to directed social learning. Directed social learning protects them from copying non-adaptive information so far, the strategies of animals. leading to directed social learning, are assumed to rely on (possibly indirect) inferences about the demonstrator's success. As ail alternative to this assumption, we propose a strategy that only uses self-established estimates of the pay-offs of behavior. We evaluate the strategy in a number of agent-based simulations. Critically, the strategy's success is warranted by the inclusion of all incremental learning mechanism. Our findings point out new theoretical opportunities to regulate social learning for animals. More broadly, our simulations emphasize the need to include a realistic learning mechanism in game-theoretic studies of social learning strategies, and call for re-evaluation of previous findings. (C) 2009 Elservier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tags

Agent-based model Directed social learning Social learning