Migration among subpopulations weakens reliance on social learning but barely affects conformist transmission strength.
Evidence
Figure 4 illustrates that increasing the rate of migration among subpopulations gradually reduces the approximate equilibrium value of L for two different values of r. Over the entire range of migration rates, from m 5 0.01 to 0.45, L drops from 0.68 to 0.50 and from L 5 0.85 to 0.70 for r 5 0.841 and 0.977, respectively. However, D, the conformist parameter, stabilized near its maximum value, just below one, over the entire range of migration rates (m). Increasing rates of migration has little effect on the evolution of conformist transmission and the degree of reliance on social learning. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 84
Categorization
- XREF: Directly supports Henrich’s later popular-book account of why conformist (payoff-independent) learning evolves despite migration; connects to the coercion-vulnerability argument in the reader’s prior notes. — 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; Conformist transmission biases learners toward adopting a population’s most frequent cultural traits. — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 23; Conformist transmission evolves robustly across far more conditions than heavy social learning does — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 65 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Conformist transmission evolves robustly across far more conditions than heavy social learning does
#corroborates(0.82) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 65 - Selective social learning yields group-level cultural accumulation beyond any individual’s knowledge
#expands(0.78) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 198 - Conformist transmission occurs across many social-learning species.
#corroborates(0.75) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 1122 - Conformist transmission skews trait frequency toward the population majority beyond unbiased copying.
#qualifies(0.72) — Joe Henrich and Robert Boyd, The Evolution of Conformist…, 124