Diversity Improves Speed and Accuracy in Social Networks

Abstract

How does temporally structured private and social information shape collective decisions? To address this question we consider a network of rational agents who independently accumulate private evidence that triggers a decision upon reaching a threshold. When seen by the whole network, the first agent's choice initiates a wave of new decisions; later decisions have less impact. In heterogeneous networks, first decisions are made quickly by impulsive individuals who need little evidence to make a choice, but, even when wrong, can reveal the correct options to nearly everyone else. We conclude that groups comprised of diverse individuals can make more efficient decisions than homogenous ones.

arXiv comment6 pages, 4 figures

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• Extreme hitting probabilities for diffusion
• Collective decision-making under changing social environments among agents adapted to sparse connectivity
• Catalyzing collaborations: Prescribed interactions at conferences determine team formation
• A model for cooperative scientific research inspired by the ant colony algorithm
• Fast decisions reflect biases, slow decisions do not