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Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
The Interplay Of Social Constraints And Individual Variation In Risk Tolerance In The Emergence Of Superspreaders, Earl Carr, Matthew J. Young, Matthew J. Silk, Alexander J. Pritchard, Nina F. Fefferman
The Interplay Of Social Constraints And Individual Variation In Risk Tolerance In The Emergence Of Superspreaders, Earl Carr, Matthew J. Young, Matthew J. Silk, Alexander J. Pritchard, Nina F. Fefferman
Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Individual host behaviours can drastically impact the spread of infection through a population. Differences in the value individuals place on both socializing with others and avoiding infection have been shown to yield emergent homophily in social networks and thereby shape epidemic outcomes. We build on this understanding to explore how individuals who do not conform to their social surroundings contribute to the propagation of infection during outbreaks. We show how non-conforming individuals, even if they do not directly expose a disproportionate number of other individuals themselves, can become functional superspreaders through an emergent social structure that positions them as the …
Convergence To Consensus In Heterogeneous Groups And The Emergence Of Informal Leadership, Sergey Gavrilets, Jeremy David Auerbach, Mark Van Vugt
Convergence To Consensus In Heterogeneous Groups And The Emergence Of Informal Leadership, Sergey Gavrilets, Jeremy David Auerbach, Mark Van Vugt
Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
When group cohesion is essential, groups must have efficient strategies in place for consensus decisionmaking. Recent theoretical work suggests that shared decision-making is often the most efficient way for dealing with both information uncertainty and individual variation in preferences. However, some animal and most human groups make collective decisions through particular individuals, leaders, that have a disproportionate influence on group decision-making. To address this discrepancy between theory and data, we study a simple, but general, model that explicitly focuses on the dynamics of consensus building in groups composed by individuals who are heterogeneous in preferences, certain personality traits (agreeability and …
To Play Or Not To Play? That’S A Resource Abundance Question, Jeremy David Auerbach, Andrew R. Kanarek, Gordon M. Burghardt
To Play Or Not To Play? That’S A Resource Abundance Question, Jeremy David Auerbach, Andrew R. Kanarek, Gordon M. Burghardt
Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Although play occurs in a wide variety of animals, models of the origins of play behavior are lacking. We propose a novel computational model exploring the evolution of non-social frivolous play. Asexually reproducing semelparous animals can either rest or forage. Foraging occurs when an organism is below an energy threshold. Success is determined by the combination of skill and availability of resources, which declines over time but replenishes for each generation. Play was introduced as a mutant strategy: a frivolous activity that uses energy and increases the probability of dying over resting with no direct fitness benefit. Simulations show that …