Why understanding multiplex social network structuring processes will help us better understand the evolution of human behavior

Atkisson, Curtis; Górski, Piotr J.; Jackson, Matthew O.; Hołyst, Janusz A.; D’Souza, Raissa M.

doi:10.1002/evan.21850

Cited by 27 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…friendship, trust) with whom’, respectively, so that they can be studied simultaneously. Likewise, future research needs to consider the complex realities of group membership: individuals hold multiple identities [ 237 ] in multiplex social networks [ 238 ]. Appreciating this multiplexity—and the possibility for the same relationships to have both informational and material exchanges—will be crucial for further advancing our understanding of cooperation [ 238 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Networks of reliable reputations and cooperation: a review

Takács

Gross

Testori

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Reputation has been shown to provide an informal solution to the problem of cooperation in human societies. After reviewing models that connect reputations and cooperation, we address how reputation results from information exchange embedded in a social network that changes endogenously itself. Theoretical studies highlight that network topologies have different effects on the extent of cooperation, since they can foster or hinder the flow of reputational information. Subsequently, we review models and empirical studies that intend to grasp the coevolution of reputations, cooperation and social networks. We identify open questions in the literature concerning how networks affect the accuracy of reputations, the honesty of shared information and the spread of reputational information. Certain network topologies may facilitate biased beliefs and intergroup competition or in-group identity formation that could lead to high cooperation within but conflicts between different subgroups of a network. Our review covers theoretical, experimental and field studies across various disciplines that target these questions and could explain how the dynamics of interactions and reputations help or prevent the establishment and sustainability of cooperation in small- and large-scale societies. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The language of cooperation: reputation and honest signalling’.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Networks of reliable reputations and cooperation: a review

Takács

Gross

Testori

et al. 2021

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…friendship and advice-giving) with one relationship promoting the other, or competing, with one relationship precluding another (e.g. drug-sharing and employment [ 149 ]). In some cases, then, relationships can be a burden, creating obligations and constraining action.…”

Section: The Meso-level Properties: Social Network and Status Differe...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Social hierarchies and social networks in humans

Redhead

Power

2022

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Across species, social hierarchies are often governed by dominance relations. In humans, where there are multiple culturally valued axes of distinction, social hierarchies can take a variety of forms and need not rest on dominance relations. Consequently, humans navigate multiple domains of status, i.e. relative standing. Importantly, while these hierarchies may be constructed from dyadic interactions, they are often more fundamentally guided by subjective peer evaluations and group perceptions. Researchers have typically focused on the distinct elements that shape individuals’ relative standing, with some emphasizing individual-level attributes and others outlining emergent macro-level structural outcomes. Here, we synthesize work across the social sciences to suggest that the dynamic interplay between individual-level and meso-level properties of the social networks in which individuals are embedded are crucial for understanding the diverse processes of status differentiation across groups. More specifically, we observe that humans not only navigate multiple social hierarchies at any given time but also simultaneously operate within multiple, overlapping social networks. There are important dynamic feedbacks between social hierarchies and the characteristics of social networks, as the types of social relationships, their structural properties, and the relative position of individuals within them both influence and are influenced by status differentiation. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The centennial of the pecking order: current state and future prospects for the study of dominance hierarchies’.

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“…In reality, though, highly social species like humans and other social primates can express different behaviors in different social contexts. Although their social environments are complex, unpredictable, and intellectually challenging, humans have evolved remarkable abilities to process social information and to condition their behavior accordingly ( 21 ). They are capable of calculating the consequences of their own behavior, as well as the likely behaviors of others ( 22 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of cooperation with contextualized behavior

McAvoy

Plotkin

2022

Sci. Adv.

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How do networks of social interaction govern the emergence and stability of prosocial behavior? Theoretical studies of this question typically assume unconditional behavior, meaning that an individual either cooperates with all opponents or defects against all opponents—an assumption that produces a pessimistic outlook for the evolution of cooperation, especially in highly connected populations. Although these models may be appropriate for simple organisms, humans have sophisticated cognitive abilities that allow them to distinguish between opponents and social contexts, so they can condition their behavior on the identity of opponents. Here, we study the evolution of cooperation when behavior is conditioned by social context, but behaviors can spill over between contexts. Our mathematical analysis shows that contextualized behavior rescues cooperation across a broad range of population structures, even when the number of social contexts is small. Increasing the number of social contexts further promotes cooperation by orders of magnitude.

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Why understanding multiplex social network structuring processes will help us better understand the evolution of human behavior

Cited by 27 publications

References 9 publications

Networks of reliable reputations and cooperation: a review

Networks of reliable reputations and cooperation: a review

Social hierarchies and social networks in humans

Evolution of cooperation with contextualized behavior

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