Conformist bias evolution requires less environmental stability than social learning evolution itself.

Evidence

Interestingly, even when most individuals learn on their own and only a few imitate (e.g., L 5 0.2), conformist transmission remains adaptive and evolves to 80% of its maximum value. When one imitates, even in an environment that shifts 40% of the time, preferentially copying the most frequent behavior remains advantageous. Consequently, it is the evolution of social learning, and not the evolution of the conformist effect, that demands more stable environments. More stable environments favor both the alleles for a heavy reliance on social learning and the alleles for strong conformist transmission. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 75

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the classic conformist transmission / Boyd & Richerson debate the reader is chasing — the selection-based foundation that Henrich later popularized for coercion-vulnerability. — connects to: Conformist transmission is favored across a broader range of conditions than mere social learning. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 3; Adaptive problems reduce to reading imperfect environmental cues of two kinds. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 31; Individual learning from environmental cues does not always yield the adaptive behavior. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 35 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Conformist transmission evolves robustly across far more conditions than heavy social learning does #expands (0.92) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 65
• Evolutionary selection robustly favors copying the majority even when environments shift often. #corroborates (0.88) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 75
• Conformism stays adaptive under rapid change though heavy social learning does not #expands (0.85)
• Selection favors conformist transmission in both spatially and temporally varying environments #corroborates (0.83) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 14