Tessera

Paul Smaldino @psmaldino.bsky.social · 6d ago

A Demographic Theory of Similarity-Biased Social Learning. Now out in PNAS, led by the incomparable @apvelilla.bsky.social . We use modeling to explore conditions for the (cultural) evolution of parochial (and anti-parochial) learning biases. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Humans adapt by learning from others, but risk acquiring maladaptive behaviors when learning from individuals facing different conditions. We present an evolutionary model exploring how individuals use social identity markers to select learning targets in diverse populations. Learners evolve biases that track reliable information sources: preferring similar individuals when in-group knowledge is adaptive, and dissimilar individuals when in-group behaviors are disadvantageous. Our framework demonstrates that this adaptive bias makes social learning viable even when it is costlier than individual learning. Additionally, we show that a minimum threshold of reliable cultural information is required for social learning to spread, providing a mathematical explanation for how demographic diversity drives population-level patterns of cultural segregation and assimilation.

Alejandro Pérez Velilla @apvelilla.bsky.social · 6d ago

Out now in PNAS. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Thank you to all peers and colleagues who provided invaluable feedback during the process!

A demographic theory of similarity-biased social learning | PNAS

We develop a demographic theory of similarity-biased social learning that formalizes our understanding of when and why individuals should preferent...

pnas.org

Alejandro Pérez Velilla@apvelilla.bsky.social · 5mo ago

New preprint with @psmaldino.bsky.social on the evolution of similarity-biased learning: osf.io/preprints/so... This mathematical treatment both simplifies and extends our previous simulation treatment of the subject: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

xuan (ɕɥɛn / sh-yen)@xuanalogue.bsky.social · 2w ago

I wasn't able to attend #CogSci26 this year, but happy to share that a paper I presented there two years ago is now published in journal-length form 😊 The paper studies how people can rationally infer others' goals in open-ended spaces, and yet do so rapidly and spontaneously.

Topics in Cognitive Science
Original Article
Open Access
Infinite Ends From Finite Samples: Open-Ended Goal Inference as Top-Down Bayesian Filtering of Bottom-Up Proposals
Tan Zhi-Xuan, Gloria Kang, Vikash Mansinghka, Joshua B. Tenenbaum

Open-ended goal inference as top-down Bayesian filtering of bottom-up proposals. We model inference in open-ended goal spaces as the combination of two processes: (a) Bottom-up sampling—you (observer) see your friend (agent) enter the kitchen and come up with several plausible goals (making tea, getting a snack, grabbing drinks, checking the pot, and so on) based on the context cue that your friend is in the kitchen. (b) Top-down filtering—your friend opens the fridge, which would be irrational if they were making tea or checking the pot; these goals are hence filtered out as poor explanations. By repeating these processes as actions unfold, we can model how people draw broadly rational inferences about others' goals even when the space of possibilities is infinite or just too large for explicit enumeration.

Paul Smaldino @psmaldino.bsky.social · 2w ago

I really like this paper I did with @nathan-gabriel.bsky.social and @avbell.bsky.social, now out in EHS. It's an unusual paper because we tried to model the emergence of complex, multidimensional and intersectional identity structures from a signaling perspective. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The evolution of identity signals for co-ordination in diverse societies
Individual social identities indicate group affiliations and are typically associated with group-typical preferences, signals that indicate group membership, and the propensity to condition actions on the social signals of others, resulting in group-differentiated interaction norms. Past work modelling identity signalling and co-ordination has typically assumed that individuals belong to one of a discrete set of groups. Yet individuals can simultaneously belong to multiple groups, which may be nested within larger groupings. Here, we introduce the generalized Bach or Stravinsky game, a co-ordination game with ordered preferences, which allows us to construct a model that captures the overlapping and hierarchical nature of social identity. Our model unifies several prior results into a single framework, including results related to co-ordination, minority disadvantage, and cross-cultural competence. Our model also allows agents to express complex social identities through multidimensional signalling, which we use to explore a variety of complex group structures. Our consideration of intersectional identities exposes flaws in naive measures of group structure, illustrating how empirical studies may overlook some social identities if they do not consider the behaviours that those identities function to afford.

Figure 1.
(a) Ancient Sumerian cities used throughout the paper as a motivating example. (b) Diagram of relationships between the different Mesopotamian identities along with shapes used to represent each of them throughout the paper.

Figure 11.
Proportion of simulations that resulted in (a) the intersectional structure, optimal when 𝛼 =2, or (b) either of the two mere conjunction structures, optimal when 𝛼 =0. The trio of stick figures at the top represent the optimal strategy profiles used by non-Kishus in all cases.

Acknowledgements
We thank the members of the MODSOC lab at UC Merced for helpful comments. We are grateful to the NSF for funding foundational research on social identity, inequality, and intersectionality.

Paul Smaldino @psmaldino.bsky.social · 2w ago

Want to do a PhD to work on models of opinion dynamics and the inequalities of information flow, with an emphasis on climate change and climate policy? Apply by October 15 to work with Ago Merico and myself, based at @leibniz-zmt.de in Bremen, Germany. www.leibniz-zmt.de/en/vacancies...

Doctoral candidate (gn) - WG Systems Ecology

Das Leibniz-Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung (ZMT) erforscht tropische und subtropische Küstenökosysteme und ihre Bedeutung für Natur und Menschen erforscht.

leibniz-zmt.de

Oleg Sobchuk 🇺🇦@sobchuk.bsky.social · last mo.

📣 I'm hiring! Two positions (PhD student & Postdoc) in my ERC project Macroevolution of European Literature. Let's study the cultural evolution of literature using massive data 📚📈 📍Frankfurt | Apply by August 15 Details: www.aesthetics.mpg.de/en/career/jo... Please repost to help spread the word!

Job announcement of two positions at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt: postdoc (Macroevolution of European Literature) and PhD student (Computational Literary Studies). Successful candidates will be affiliated with the research group Cultural Evolution of the Arts.

Paul Smaldino @psmaldino.bsky.social · 3w ago

I had a paper accepted and learned that PNAS got rid of their free, “closed access” (preprint ok) option - they now charge at least $3K to publish because they are greedy little pigs who have no shame.

PNAS charges $5575 for immediate access at $3925 for delayed open access, because they are greedy pigs without shame.

Bret Beheim @babeheim.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Watch out, he's got a PhD! Congrats man!

Alejandro Pérez Velilla@apvelilla.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I am happy to announce that I have successfully defended my dissertation --- under the supervision of my mentor @psmaldino.bsky.social --- for the title of Doctor of Philosophy in Cognitive and Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced.

Paul Smaldino @psmaldino.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I couldn’t be prouder of the stellar work @apvelilla.bsky.social did for his PhD. A phenomenal set of work on social learning, cooperation, and risk. Keep on eye on this guy, he’s one to watch.

Alejandro Pérez Velilla@apvelilla.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I am happy to announce that I have successfully defended my dissertation --- under the supervision of my mentor @psmaldino.bsky.social --- for the title of Doctor of Philosophy in Cognitive and Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced.

Alejandro Pérez Velilla @apvelilla.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I am happy to announce that I have successfully defended my dissertation --- under the supervision of my mentor @psmaldino.bsky.social --- for the title of Doctor of Philosophy in Cognitive and Information Sciences at the University of California, Merced.

Ketika Garg @ketikagarg.bsky.social · 2y ago

1st post on bsky - about bsky! I was fascinated with academic starter packs and made an interactive network to see academic communities and how they connect - a map of knowledge! link to an interactive & searchable network: ketikagarg.github.io/blueSkyAcade...

Mason Youngblood @masonyoungblood.bsky.social · 4mo ago

New paper out today! When baby zebra finches are tutored with manipulated songs with shuffled syllables, they transform them to be consistent with linguistic laws 🐥 Reanalysis of data from James and Sakata (2017) link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Zebra finches transform manipulated songs with shuffled syllables to exhibit linguistic laws - Animal Cognition

Animal Cognition - Linguistic laws are increasingly used as markers of efficiency in non-human communication, but it remains unclear how rapidly these patterns can emerge. In this re-analysis of...

link.springer.com

Dominik Deffner @dominikdeffner.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Come work with us! And get in touch with any questions you might have about the position, our labs or living/working in Germany #PostdocWanted

Charley Wu@thecharleywu.bsky.social · 5mo ago

🚀 Postdoc Alert! Are you passionate about social learning & cultural evolution? @dominikdeffner.bsky.social & I have a 3-year position with freedom to develop your research and work on cutting-edge multiplayer and immersive experiments. Apply by March 30! hmc-lab.com/SocialLearni... Pls share 🙏

Paul Smaldino @psmaldino.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Great thread by @apvelilla.bsky.social about our new paper: "A Demographic Theory of Similarity-Biased Social Learning." We use mathematical modeling to explore the functional role played by identity markers in how we learn from others, and in the evolution of social learning more generally.

Alejandro Pérez Velilla@apvelilla.bsky.social · 5mo ago

New preprint with @psmaldino.bsky.social on the evolution of similarity-biased learning: osf.io/preprints/so... This mathematical treatment both simplifies and extends our previous simulation treatment of the subject: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Alejandro Pérez Velilla @apvelilla.bsky.social · 5mo ago

New preprint with @psmaldino.bsky.social on the evolution of similarity-biased learning: osf.io/preprints/so... This mathematical treatment both simplifies and extends our previous simulation treatment of the subject: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

OSF

osf.io

Alejandro Pérez Velilla @apvelilla.bsky.social · 8mo ago

New preprint out with @elspethready.bsky.social : "The emergence of sharing networks through indirect signaling". osf.io/preprints/so...

OSF

osf.io

Paul Smaldino @psmaldino.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Super proud of this paper with @apvelilla.bsky.social and @babeheim.bsky.social, now out in Psych Review. Non-paywalled version (preprint) here: osf.io/preprints/so...

Santa Fe Institute @sfiscience.bsky.social · 8mo ago

How likely are you to invest in a new business? Ask your partner to marry you? Move to a new country? A new model by SFI External Professor Paul Smaldino and colleagues explains how wealth, experience, and environment shape our risk tolerance — and how those effects persist across generations.

Zach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Full comic here: www.smbc-comics.com/comic/capita... #smbc

Evolutionary Psychology (the podcast) @epthepod.bsky.social · 9mo ago

This week we talk to @babeheim.bsky.social about culture, change, modeling, running red lights, and the game of go. youtu.be/nqTkSK-qtJM www.podbean.com/eas/pb-hrn9v...

Cultural Dynamics with Bret Breheim

YouTube video by Evolutionary Psychology (The Podcast)

youtu.be

Paul Smaldino @psmaldino.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Happy to see this work published in Psych Review. It's an impressive and important bit of theory/modeling about how we learn about decision-making under risk. Here's a slide with the super-coarse-grained summary of our results. Read the paper for (much) more. osf.io/preprints/so...

Modeling the evolution of peer and vertical/oblique learning strategies for gambles under uncertainty
We recover many empirical results and generate new hypotheses:
Worse conditions lead to more pessimistic behavior
Younger people are overly optimistic
Wealthy people can afford to take more risks
Payoff-biased learning for the rich, parochialism for the poor
Poor people may be slower to adapt to environmental change, creating the appearance of “poverty traps”

Alejandro Pérez Velilla@apvelilla.bsky.social · 10mo ago

I am happy to announce that our project on risk and social learning is now in press at Psychological Review. Several new additions and revisions thanks to detailed feedback from colleagues and anonymous reviewers. osf.io/preprints/so... @psmaldino.bsky.social @babeheim.bsky.social

Alejandro Pérez Velilla @apvelilla.bsky.social · 10mo ago

I am happy to announce that our project on risk and social learning is now in press at Psychological Review. Several new additions and revisions thanks to detailed feedback from colleagues and anonymous reviewers. osf.io/preprints/so... @psmaldino.bsky.social @babeheim.bsky.social

OSF

osf.io

Alejandro Pérez Velilla@apvelilla.bsky.social · 2y ago

My first PhD project is out there. Thank you to my advisor @psmaldino.bsky.social and to mentor, co-author and friend @babeheim.bsky.social for encouraging and helping build this exciting and insightful collaboration. Onwards!

Bret Beheim @babeheim.bsky.social · 11mo ago

How to quantify the impact of AI on long-run cultural evolution? Published today, I give it a go! 400+ years of strategic dynamics in the game of Go (Baduk/Weiqi), from feudalism to AlphaGo!

Miyagawa Shuntei's 1898 painting, "Playing Go (Japanese Chess)"

Eleanor Power @eapower.bsky.social · 11mo ago

📣 Job alert! *Assistant Prof in Computational Social Science*. We're a friendly department, with sharp students, at a great institution, in a lovely city. We have real strengths in computational social science & are looking for a colleague to build this further. Share and reach out with quesions!

LSE Methodology@lsemethodology.bsky.social · 11mo ago

We're hiring an Assistant Professor in Computational Social Science ❗ 📚 jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/... Apply before 26 October to join an internationally outstanding group of social science methodologists 🌎

we're hiring assistant professor in computational social science, applications close 26/10/2025

Jorge Peña 🇵🇸@jorgeapenas.bsky.social · 11mo ago

📢 Apply to our (2-year) research fellowships at @iast.fr Join a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and indisciplinary group of scholars in Toulouse, walkable/cyclable pink city of chocolatines in the South of France. Deadline: November 15, 2025. www.iast.fr/research-fel...

Research Fellowships

Each year, IAST invites applications for post-doctoral Research Fellowships, which offer candidates an opportunity to devote themselves full-time to their research at the start of their careers. Fello...

iast.fr

Haneul Jang @haneuljang.bsky.social · 11mo ago

💙New paper!💙 How is knowledge transmitted across generations in a foraging society? With @danielredhead.bsky.social we found: In BaYaka foragers, long-term skills pass in smaller, sparser networks, while short-term food info circulates broadly & reciprocally academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

Transmission networks of long-term and short-term knowledge in a foraging society

Abstract. Cultural transmission across generations is key to cumulative cultural evolution. While several mechanisms—such as vertical, horizontal, and obli

academic.oup.com

Paul Smaldino @psmaldino.bsky.social · last yr.

New preprint w/ Nathan Gabriel & @avbell.bsky.social: The Evolution of Identity Signals for Coordination in Diverse Societies The model tackles multiple nested/overlapping identities and complex signaling structure. Recovers lots of old results and adds several new ones osf.io/preprints/so...

Individual social identities indicate group affiliations and are typically associated with 3 group-typical preferences, signals that indicate group membership, and the propensity to condition actions on the social signals of others, resulting in group-differentiated interaction norms. Past work modeling identity signaling and coordination has typically assumed that individuals belong to one of a discrete set of groups. Yet individuals can simultaneously belong to multiple groups, which may be nested within larger groupings. Here, we introduce the generalized Bach or Stravinsky game, a coordination game with ordered preferences, which allows us to construct a model that captures the overlapping and hierarchical nature of social identity. Our model unifies several prior results into a single framework, including results related to coordination, minority disadvantage, and cross-cultural competence. Our model also allows agents to express complex social identities through multidimensional signaling, which we use to explore a variety of complex group structures. Our consideration of intersectional identities exposes flaws in naive measures of group structure, illustrating how empirical studies may overlook some social identities if they do not consider the behaviors that those identities function to afford.

Elspeth Ready @elspethready.bsky.social · last yr.

Job announcement 🚨: paid fieldwork opportunity with Sanguatsiniq research project! Details in thread ⬇️ Please share!

Paul Smaldino @psmaldino.bsky.social · last yr.

As grant money starts drying up, it's more important than ever not to waste it on paying publishers' open access "article processing fees" when we can host PDFs for free. Tom Morgan and I wrote a paper on this, forthcoming at Science and Public Policy. Accepted draft here: osf.io/preprints/os...

Author-Paid PublicationFees Corrupt Science and Should Be Abandoned
Thomas J. H Morgan & Paul E. Smaldino

Bret Beheim @babeheim.bsky.social · last yr.

Here's the stable link to the most recent version 👀 osf.io/preprints/ps...

OSF

osf.io

Bret Beheim @babeheim.bsky.social · last yr.

🚨 New preprint! 🚨 I looked at 400+ years of cumulative cultural evolution in the Game of Go from feudalism to superhuman AI. Did AlphaGo etc. completely disrupt human play? No! More like human-machine convergence, rather than revolution. Check out these decision trees! osf.io/preprints/ps...

decision trees in human play in the game of go before and after the arrival of superhuman AI, showing gradual change rather than revolutionary disruption