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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Mechanisms For Social Influence, Jeremy David Auerbach
Mechanisms For Social Influence, Jeremy David Auerbach
Masters Theses
Throughout the thesis, I study mathematical models that can help explain the dependency of social phenomena in animals and humans on individual traits. The first chapter investigates consensus building in human groups through communication of individual preferences for a course of action. Individuals share and modify these preferences through speaker listener interactions. Personality traits, reputations, and social networks structures effect these modifications and eventually the group will reach a consensus. If there is variation in personality traits, the time to reach consensus is delayed. Reputation models are introduced and explored, finding that those who can best estimate the average initial …
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 …