Conformist transmission is favored across a broader range of conditions than mere social learning.
Evidence
Boyd and Richerson showed that a tendency to acquire the most common behavior exhibited in a society was adaptive in a simple model of evolution in a spatially varying environment, because such a tendency increases the probability of acquiring adaptive beliefs and values. Here, we study the evolution of such “conformist transmission” in a more general model in which environments vary in both time and space. The analysis of this model indicates that conformist transmission is favored under a very broad range of conditions, broader in fact than the range of conditions that favor a substantial reliance on social learning. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 3
Categorization
- XREF: This is the foundational result underlying Boyd and Richerson’s dual inheritance theory, later popularized in Henrich’s work; directly relevant to my coercion-vulnerability research thread. — connects to: Conformist transmission evolves robustly across far more conditions than heavy social learning does — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 65; Natural selection favors conformist transmission under a wide range of conditions, including fluctuating environments. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 121; Conformism stays adaptive under rapid change though heavy social learning does not (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Conformist transmission evolves robustly across far more conditions than heavy social learning does
#expands(0.96) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 65 - Natural selection favors conformist transmission under a wide range of conditions, including fluctuating environments.
#corroborates(0.90) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 121 - Conformist bias evolution requires less environmental stability than social learning evolution itself.
#expands(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) - Migration among subpopulations weakens reliance on social learning but barely affects conformist transmission strength.
#corroborates(0.78) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 84