17 research outputs found
Optimal interdependence between networks for the evolution of cooperation
Recent research has identified interactions between networks as crucial for the outcome of evolutionary
games taking place on them. While the consensus is that interdependence does promote cooperation by
means of organizational complexity and enhanced reciprocity that is out of reach on isolated networks, we
here address the question just how much interdependence there should be. Intuitively, one might assume
the more the better. However, we show that in fact only an intermediate density of sufficiently strong
interactions between networks warrants an optimal resolution of social dilemmas. This is due to an intricate
interplay between the heterogeneity that causes an asymmetric strategy flow because of the additional links
between the networks, and the independent formation of cooperative patterns on each individual network.
Presented results are robust to variations of the strategy updating rule, the topology of interdependent
networks, and the governing social dilemma, thus suggesting a high degree of universality
Learning and coordinating in a multilayer network
We introduce a two layer network model for social coordination incorporating
two relevant ingredients: a) different networks of interaction to learn and to
obtain a payoff , and b) decision making processes based both on social and
strategic motivations. Two populations of agents are distributed in two layers
with intralayer learning processes and playing interlayer a coordination game.
We find that the skepticism about the wisdom of crowd and the local
connectivity are the driving forces to accomplish full coordination of the two
populations, while polarized coordinated layers are only possible for
all-to-all interactions. Local interactions also allow for full coordination in
the socially efficient Pareto-dominant strategy in spite of being the riskier
one
Conformity enhances network reciprocity in evolutionary social dilemmas
The pursuit of highest payoffs in evolutionary social dilemmas is risky and
sometimes inferior to conformity. Choosing the most common strategy within the
interaction range is safer because it ensures that the payoff of an individual
will not be much lower than average. Herding instincts and crowd behavior in
humans and social animals also compel to conformity on their own right.
Motivated by these facts, we here study the impact of conformity on the
evolution of cooperation in social dilemmas. We show that an appropriate
fraction of conformists within the population introduces an effective surface
tension around cooperative clusters and ensures smooth interfaces between
different strategy domains. Payoff-driven players brake the symmetry in favor
of cooperation and enable an expansion of clusters past the boundaries imposed
by traditional network reciprocity. This mechanism works even under the most
testing conditions, and it is robust against variations of the interaction
network as long as degree-normalized payoffs are applied. Conformity may thus
be beneficial for the resolution of social dilemmas.Comment: 8 two-column pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in Journal of
the Royal Society Interfac
Spillover modes in multiplex games: double-edged effects on cooperation, and their coevolution
In recent years, there has been growing interest in studying games on
multiplex networks that account for interactions across linked social contexts.
However, little is known about how potential cross-context interference, or
spillover, of individual behavioural strategy impact overall cooperation. We
consider three plausible spillover modes, quantifying and comparing their
effects on the evolution of cooperation. In our model, social interactions take
place on two network layers: one represents repeated interactions with close
neighbours in a lattice, the other represents one-shot interactions with random
individuals across the same population. Spillover can occur during the social
learning process with accidental cross-layer strategy transfer, or during
social interactions with errors in implementation due to contextual
interference. Our analytical results, using extended pair approximation, are in
good agreement with extensive simulations. We find double-edged effects of
spillover on cooperation: increasing the intensity of spillover can promote
cooperation provided cooperation is favoured in one layer, but too much
spillover is detrimental. We also discover a bistability phenomenon of
cooperation: spillover hinders or promotes cooperation depending on initial
frequencies of cooperation in each layer. Furthermore, comparing strategy
combinations that emerge in each spillover mode provides a good indication of
their co-evolutionary dynamics with cooperation. Our results make testable
predictions that inspire future research, and sheds light on human cooperation
across social domains and their interference with one another
Collaboration Conundrum: Synchrony-Cooperation Trade-off
In large groups, every collaborative act requires balancing two pressures:
the need to achieve behavioural synchrony and the need to keep free riding to a
minimum. This paper introduces a model of collaboration that requires both
synchronisation on a social network and costly cooperation. The results show
that coordination slows, and cooperativeness increases with the social
network`s local integratedness, measured by the clustering coefficient. That
is, in a large-group collaboration, achieving behavioural synchrony and
strategic cooperation are in opposition to each other. The optimal clustering
coefficient has no natural state in our species, and is determined by the
ecological environment, the group`s technology set, and the group`s size. This
opens the space for social technologies that solve this optimisation problem by
generating optimal social network structures.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure
Spreading processes in Multilayer Networks
Several systems can be modeled as sets of interconnected networks or networks
with multiple types of connections, here generally called multilayer networks.
Spreading processes such as information propagation among users of an online
social networks, or the diffusion of pathogens among individuals through their
contact network, are fundamental phenomena occurring in these networks.
However, while information diffusion in single networks has received
considerable attention from various disciplines for over a decade, spreading
processes in multilayer networks is still a young research area presenting many
challenging research issues. In this paper we review the main models, results
and applications of multilayer spreading processes and discuss some promising
research directions.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, 4 table
The use of multilayer network analysis in animal behaviour
Network analysis has driven key developments in research on animal behaviour
by providing quantitative methods to study the social structures of animal
groups and populations. A recent formalism, known as \emph{multilayer network
analysis}, has advanced the study of multifaceted networked systems in many
disciplines. It offers novel ways to study and quantify animal behaviour as
connected 'layers' of interactions. In this article, we review common questions
in animal behaviour that can be studied using a multilayer approach, and we
link these questions to specific analyses. We outline the types of behavioural
data and questions that may be suitable to study using multilayer network
analysis. We detail several multilayer methods, which can provide new insights
into questions about animal sociality at individual, group, population, and
evolutionary levels of organisation. We give examples for how to implement
multilayer methods to demonstrate how taking a multilayer approach can alter
inferences about social structure and the positions of individuals within such
a structure. Finally, we discuss caveats to undertaking multilayer network
analysis in the study of animal social networks, and we call attention to
methodological challenges for the application of these approaches. Our aim is
to instigate the study of new questions about animal sociality using the new
toolbox of multilayer network analysis.Comment: Thoroughly revised; title changed slightl
Evolutionary origin of asymptotically stable consensus
Consensus is widely observed in nature as well as in society. Up to now, many works have focused on what kind of (and how) isolated single structures lead to consensus, while the dynamics of consensus in interdependent populations remains unclear, although interactive structures are everywhere. For such consensus in interdependent populations, we refer that the fraction of population adopting a specified strategy is the same across different interactive structures. A two-strategy game as a conflict is adopted to explore how natural selection affects the consensus in such interdependent populations. It is shown that when selection is absent, all the consensus states are stable, but none are evolutionarily stable. In other words, the final consensus state can go back and forth from one to another. When selection is present, there is only a small number of stable consensus state which are evolutionarily stable. Our study highlights the importance of evolution on stabilizing consensus in interdependent populations