scholarly journals Accents as honest signals of in-group membership

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Goodman ◽  
Enrico Crema ◽  
Francis Nolan ◽  
Emma Cohen ◽  
Robert Foley
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Evolutionary Account ◽  
Honest Signals ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Place Of Origin ◽  
True Group ◽  
Cultural Features ◽  
Better Than

Accents, along with other cultural features including shared place of origin, helped to increase the number of people with whom an individual could signal cooperative tendencies (Cohen, 2012). Yet as groups became larger and underwent continued fission and fusion, signals of group membership may have become more important to reduce the risk of infiltration (Foley, 2004). We would expect, as the risk of imposters grew along with group size, for signals of group membership to become more complex, and for true group members to become adept at recognising false signals (McElreath et al., 2003). Here we are exploring how well people who speak naturally in 7 specific regions of the British Isles detect mimicry of their own accent. Our findings suggest that individuals are better than chance at detecting accent-mimicry of their own native accents, supporting this evolutionary account.

scholarly journals Three heads are better than two: Comparing learning properties and performances across individuals, dyads, and triads through a computational approach

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252122
Author(s):  
Tsutomu Harada
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Computational Approach ◽  
Inverse Temperature ◽  
Bandit Problems ◽  
Individual Group ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Instrumental Role ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Group Effects

Although it is considered that two heads are better than one, related studies argued that groups rarely outperform their best members. This study examined not only whether two heads are better than one but also whether three heads are better than two or one in the context of two-armed bandit problems where learning plays an instrumental role in achieving high performance. This research revealed that a U-shaped correlation exists between performance and group size. The performance was highest for either individuals or triads, but the lowest for dyads. Moreover, this study estimated learning properties and determined that high inverse temperature (exploitation) accounted for high performance. In particular, it was shown that group effects regarding the inverse temperatures in dyads did not generate higher values to surpass the averages of their two group members. In contrast, triads gave rise to higher values of the inverse temperatures than their averages of their individual group members. These results were consistent with our proposed hypothesis that learning coherence is likely to emerge in individuals and triads, but not in dyads, which in turn leads to higher performance. This hypothesis is based on the classical argument by Simmel stating that while dyads are likely to involve more emotion and generate greater variability, triads are the smallest structure which tends to constrain emotions, reduce individuality, and generate behavioral convergences or uniformity because of the ‘‘two against one” social pressures. As a result, three heads or one head were better than two in our study.

Duchenne Smiles as Honest Signals of Chronic Positive Mood

2021 ◽  
pp. 174569162095983
Author(s):  
Kennon M. Sheldon ◽  
Mike Corcoran ◽  
Melanie Sheldon
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotion ◽  
Positive Mood ◽  
Honest Signal ◽  
Happy People ◽  
Honest Signals ◽  
Neutral Mood ◽  
Duchenne Smiles ◽  
Positivity Offset ◽  
Behavioral Influences ◽  
Better Than

Chronic positive mood (CPM) has been shown to confer a wide variety of social, functional, and health benefits. Some researchers have argued that humans evolved to feel CPM, which explains why most people report better than neutral mood (the “positivity offset bias”) and why particularly happy people have particularly good outcomes. Here, we argue that the Duchenne smile evolved as an honest signal of high levels of CPM, alerting others to the psychological fitness of the smiler. Duchenne smiles are honest because they express felt positive emotion, making it difficult for unhappy people to produce them. Duchenne smiles enable happy people to signal and cooperate with one another, boosting their advantages. In our literature review, we found (a) that not all Duchenne smiles are “honest,” although producing them in the absence of positive emotion is difficult and often detectable, and (b) that the ability to produce and recognize Duchenne smiles may vary somewhat by a person’s cultural origin. In the final section of the article, we consider behavioral influences on CPM, reviewing research showing that engaging in eudaimonic activity reliably produces CPM, as posited by the eudaimonic-activity model. This research suggests that frequent Duchenne smiling may ultimately signal eudaimonic personality as well as CPM.

Does crossing the road in a group influence pedestrians’ gaze behavior?

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 1938-1942
Author(s):  
Mirjam Lanzer ◽  
Martin Baumann
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Gaze Behavior ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Users ◽  
Gender Influence ◽  
Vulnerable Road Users ◽  
Group Members ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Group Characteristics

So far, research on pedestrians’ gaze behavior while crossing roads has mainly focused on individual pedestrians rather than groups. However, pedestrians often travel in groups especially in downtown areas. This observational study investigated how group characteristics (group size and movement of the group), situational factors (presence of traffic), and demographic variables (age and gender) influence pedestrians’ gaze behavior towards traffic during road crossing. A total of N = 197 pedestrians were observed of whom n = 24 traveled alone, n = 128 traveled in groups of two or three, and n = 45 traveled in groups of four or more. Results indicated that with increasing group size, the odds to observe traffic decreased. Diffusion of responsibility among group members might explain this effect. Finally, pedestrians’ group characteristics should be considered when developing automated vehicles that interact with vulnerable road users.

Copy the In-group: Group Membership Trumps Perceived Reliability, Warmth, and Competence in a Social-Learning Task

2021 ◽  
pp. 095679762110322
Author(s):  
Marcel Montrey ◽  
Thomas R. Shultz
Keyword(s):  
Social Learning ◽  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Minimal Group Paradigm ◽  
Learning Game ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Cumulative Cultural Evolution

Surprisingly little is known about how social groups influence social learning. Although several studies have shown that people prefer to copy in-group members, these studies have failed to resolve whether group membership genuinely affects who is copied or whether group membership merely correlates with other known factors, such as similarity and familiarity. Using the minimal-group paradigm, we disentangled these effects in an online social-learning game. In a sample of 540 adults, we found a robust in-group-copying bias that (a) was bolstered by a preference for observing in-group members; (b) overrode perceived reliability, warmth, and competence; (c) grew stronger when social information was scarce; and (d) even caused cultural divergence between intermixed groups. These results suggest that people genuinely employ a copy-the-in-group social-learning strategy, which could help explain how inefficient behaviors spread through social learning and how humans maintain the cultural diversity needed for cumulative cultural evolution.

scholarly journals Fitness of breeders in social Damaraland mole-rats is independent of group size

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Thorley ◽  
Hanna Bensch ◽  
Kyle Finn ◽  
Tim Clutton-Brock ◽  
Markus Zöttl
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
High Survival ◽  
Successful Reproduction ◽  
Related Group ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Using Data

Damaraland mole-rats (Fukomys damarensis) are usually viewed as an obligatorily group living eusocial species in which successful reproduction is dependent on reproductive altruism of closely related group members. However, the reproductive ecology of social mole-rats in their natural environment remains poorly understood and it is unclear to what extent successful reproduction is dependent on assistance from other group members. Using data from a 7-year field study of marked individuals, we show that, after dispersal from their natal group, individuals typically settled alone in new burrow systems where they enjoyed high survival rates, and often remained in good body condition for several years before finding a mate. Unlike most other eusocial or singular cooperative breeders, we found that Damaraland mole-rats reproduced successfully in pairs without helpers and experimentally formed pairs had the same reproductive success as larger established groups. Overall there was only a weak increase in reproductive success with increasing group size and no effect of group size on adult survival rates across the population. Juveniles in large groups grew faster early in life but their growth rates declined subsequently so that they eventually plateaued at a lower maximum body mass than juveniles from small groups. Taken together, our data suggest that the fitness benefits of group living to breeders are small and we suggest that extended philopatry in Damaraland mole-rats has evolved because of the high costs and constraints of dispersal rather than because of strong indirect benefits accrued through cooperative behaviour.

scholarly journals Artificial intelligence techniques applied to predict teams position of the Brazilian football championship

1989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Kleina ◽  
◽  
Mateus Noronha dos Santos ◽  
Tiago Noronha dos Santos ◽  
Marcos Augusto Mendes Marques ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Group Classification ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Multi Layer Perceptron ◽  
Post Processing ◽  
Specific Training ◽  
Reasonable Prediction ◽  
True Group ◽  
Better Than

This study presents a classifier prediction in groups for the Brazilian Football Championship of both A and B leagues, from the results of the first half of each championship. With assertive predictions of the group where a team will end the championship, strategic planning can be performed in the squad, such as new hiring, specific training for athletes, and possible championships that the team will be entitled to participate in according to the group classification. In order to find the predictions, two techniques of artificial intelligence were applied: Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), which is a type of artificial neural network, and Support Vector Machine (SVM). Preliminary results show that the proposed methodology is very promising, with more than 40% successful cases with MLP and almost 50% with SVM. Moreover, results indicate that the methodology is able to make a reasonable prediction by missing one group of the true group at the end of the championship. The SVM technique was slightly better than MLP. A post-processing analysis of the SVM results was applied to the 2018 A league data from the Brazilian championship, resulting in 85% success indicator of groups.

scholarly journals Preference for hierarchy is associated with reduced empathy and increased counter-empathy towards others, especially out-group targets

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sa-kiera Tiarra Jolynn Hudson ◽  
Mina Cikara ◽  
Jim Sidanius
Keyword(s):  
Social Dominance ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Social Dominance Orientation ◽  
Group Setting ◽  
Group Boundaries ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Prejudicial Attitudes ◽  
Status Differences

The capacity to empathize with others facilitates prosocial behavior. People’s willingness and capacity to empathize, however, is often contingent upon the target’s group membership – people are less empathic towards those they categorize as out-group members. In competitive or threatening intergroup contexts, people may even feel pleasure (counter-empathy) in response to out-group members’ misfortunes. Social dominance orientation (SDO), or the extent to which people prefer and promote group-based inequalities, is an ideological variable that is associated with a competitive view of the world, increased prejudicial attitudes, and decreased empathy. Thus, higher levels of SDO should be associated with reduced empathy and increased counter-empathy in general, but especially towards those whose subjugation maintains group inequalities. Across three studies we show that among White individuals, higher SDO levels are associated with less empathy, and more counter-empathy in response to others’ good and bad fortunes. More importantly, these reductions in empathy and increases in schadenfreude as a function of SDO were significantly stronger for Asian and Black targets than for in-group White targets when group boundaries were made salient prior to the empathy ratings. Finally, in a fourth study we show that this phenomenon is not dependent upon a history of status differences: higher SDO scores were associated with decreased empathy and increased counter-empathy for competitive out-group (relative to in-group) targets in a novel group setting. We discuss implications of these effects for hierarchy maintenance.

Shoaling decisions in female swordtails: how do fish gauge group size?

Behaviour ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 144 (11) ◽  
pp. 1333-1346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob Wong ◽  
Gil Rosenthal ◽  
Jessica Buckingham
Keyword(s):  
Gauge Group ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Group Membership ◽  
Size Ratio ◽  
Numerical Comparison ◽  
Weber’S Law ◽  
Significant Preference ◽  
Xiphophorus Helleri ◽  
Weber's Law ◽  
Numerical Comparisons

AbstractLittle is known about the mechanisms individuals might use to compare group sizes when making decisions about group membership. One possibility is that animals use ratio to determine differences in group sizes. Weber's Law states that the ease of any numerical comparison is based on the ratio between the stimuli compared; as the ratio becomes smaller the comparison becomes more difficult. We set out to test this prediction by offering female green swordtails, Xiphophorus helleri, dichotomous choices between different shoal sizes, varying both in ratios and absolute numbers of fish. Swordtails attended to the ratio of group size between stimulus shoals, rather than the numerical difference between shoals, when making shoaling decisions. Where group size ratio was 2:1, subjects showed a significant preference for the larger shoal, independent of the numerical difference between the shoals. When the ratio was 1.5:1, subjects showed no preference. The ratio between group sizes may, thus, be an important factor in shoaling decisions. More broadly, ratio could prove to be a widespread mechanism for animals to make numerical comparisons in group assessments.

Entitlement Makes People Ignorant, Egocentric, and Mean

2021 ◽  
pp. 145-175
Author(s):  
Kristin J. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Dominant Group ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Better Than

This chapter explores the ways in which entitlement facilitates ignorance, egocentrism, and inconsiderateness. People with power tend to engage in shoddy information processing. Compared to those who are marginalized, dominant group members think in shortcuts. Power emboldens people to be careless about repercussions, at least compared to those without power. Power holders do not feel compelled to view things from another person’s perspective and they do not feel obliged to know much about people with less power. For marginalized people, their very lives depend on understanding the idiosyncrasies of power holders and they understand these dynamics much better than powerful people. Power entitles people to conveniently and self-servingly assume they know more than they actually do when it comes to telling women and people of color how to think about sexism and racism (e.g., mansplaining and whitesplaining). At the same time, power entitles people to claim they know less than they actually do when they are called to account for sexual violence.

Personnel Mobility and Organizational Performance: The Effects of Specialist vs. Generalist Experience and Organizational Work Structure

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1601-1620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Fahrenkopf ◽  
Jerry Guo ◽  
Linda Argote
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Group Structure ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
New Members ◽  
Recipient Group ◽  
Organizational Work ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Specialist Groups ◽  
Better Than

This study advances understanding of the conditions under which a new worker improves organizational performance. We argue that the extent to which new group members have experience working as specialists or generalists is a critical factor in explaining performance after the new member joins. We conceptualize specialists as those who concentrate on a particular component of an organization’s task, whereas generalists perform all components of the task. As such, a specialist must coordinate with other group members to complete the group’s task, which makes a specialist more interdependent with other members and in possession of more organization-specific knowledge than a generalist. We predict that (1) groups receiving specialist new members do not perform as well after the new member joins as compared with groups receiving generalist new members and (2) groups with new members whose work experience and recipient group structure are aligned (i.e., generalist movers into generalist groups and specialist movers into specialist groups) perform better than groups with new members whose experience and recipient group structure are not aligned. We test our hypotheses using a laboratory study in which we manipulate the extent to which new members and incumbent members of recipient groups work as specialists or generalists. Participants work as generalists or specialists in three-person groups and receive a new member who acquired experience as a specialist or generalist in another group. We find support for our hypotheses and provide evidence on mechanisms through which potential new members’ backgrounds enable them to contribute significantly to their recipient groups. New members who acquire experience in a structure similar to that of their recipient organizations report that they experience greater fit with their new groups, which enables their recipient groups to perform better than groups where new members’ experience and recipient group structure are not aligned. Additionally, our results suggest generalists may be more likely than specialists to transfer knowledge to their new groups.

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