932 citations · 1.2k across the 11 of their papers we have counts for
6 papers · 1 filter
Paths to Polarization: How Extreme Views, Miscommunication, and Random Chance Drive Opinion Dynamics
Matthew A. Turner, Paul E. Smaldino
Understanding the social conditions that tend to increase or decrease polarization is important for many reasons. We study a network-structured agent-based model of opinion dynamic…
Cultural Evolution of Categorization
Pablo Andres Contreras Kallens, Rick Dale, Paul E. Smaldino
Categorization is a fundamental function of minds, with wide ranging implications for the rest of the cognitive system. In humans, categories are shared and communicated between mi…
The Natural Selection of Bad Science
Paul E. Smaldino, Richard McElreath
Poor research design and data analysis encourage false-positive findings. Such poor methods persist despite perennial calls for improvement, suggesting that they result from someth…
Evolution of Cooperation Via Covert Signaling
Paul E. Smaldino, Thomas J. Flamson, Richard McElreath
Human sociality depends upon the benefits of mutual aid and extensive communication. However mutual aid is made difficult by the problems of coordinating diverse norms and preferen…
Adoption as a Social Marker: Innovation Diffusion with Outgroup Aversion
Paul E. Smaldino, Marco A. Janssen, Vicken Hillis +1
Social identities are among the key factors driving behavior in complex societies. Signals of social identity are known to influence individual behaviors in the adoption of innovat…
Social Conformity Despite Individual Preferences for Distinctiveness
Paul E. Smaldino, Joshua M. Epstein
We demonstrate that individual behaviors directed at the attainment of distinctiveness can in fact produce complete social conformity. We thus offer an unexpected generative mechan…