Conformist transmission stays strong even when environmental cues are highly accurate or uninformative.
Evidence
As the accuracy of the cues that allow individuals to predict the current state of the environment, r is increased from 0.5 (cues are completely uninformative) to 1.0 (cues allow perfect prediction of environmental state), the equilibrium importance of socially learning declines steadily from a high of about 0.85 to approximately zero. In contrast, the equilibrium strength of conformist transmission is almost at its maximum value, 1, at intermediate values of r, and declines to lower still substantial values when r is near zero or one. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 85
Categorization
- XREF: The counterintuitive persistence of conformity regardless of cue accuracy appears to be the technical bedrock or the ‘evolutionary maladaptiveness’ point Henrich later emphasized in popular form. — 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; Selection favors conformist transmission in both spatially and temporally varying environments — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 14; Natural selection favors conformist transmission under a wide range of conditions, including fluctuating environments. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 121 (+3 more)
- QUESTION: Why does conformist strength dip at both extremes of r but hold near its max in between? The mechanism (maybe selection balances copying errors against environmental tracking) is worth pulling from the Appendix.
Broader Connections
- 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 transmission evolves robustly across far more conditions than heavy social learning does
#expands(0.85) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 65 - Conformism stays adaptive under rapid change though heavy social learning does not
#corroborates(0.85) - Selection favors conformist transmission in both spatially and temporally varying environments
#expands(0.80) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 14 - Conformist transmission is favored across a broader range of conditions than mere social learning.
#expands(0.80) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 3 - Conformist transmission is triggered by difficulty, uncertainty, and stakes
#complicates(0.75) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 181