Exploring the costs and benefits of social information use: an appraisal of current experimental evidence

Abstract

Research on social learning has focused traditionally on whether animals possess the cognitive ability to learn novel motor patterns from tutors. More recently, social learning has included the use of others as sources of inadvertent social information. This type of social learning seems more taxonomically widespread and its use can more readily be approached as an economic decision. Social sampling information, however, can be tricky to use and calls for a more lucid appraisal of its costs. In this four-part review, we address these costs. Firstly, we address the possibility that only a fraction of group members are actually providing social information at any one time. Secondly, we review experimental research which shows that animals are circumspect about social information use. Thirdly, we consider the cases where social information can lead to incorrect decisions and finally, we review studies investigating the effect of social information quality. We address the possibility that using social information or not is not a binary decision and present results of a study showing that nutmeg mannikins combine both sources of information, a condition that can lead to the establishment of informational cascades. We discuss the importance of empirically investigating the economics of social information use.

Social learning in birds and its role in shaping a foraging niche

“…Throughout the year, blue tits and great tits forage on a wide variety of food items that have evolved counter-measures to predation, like mimicry and camouflage [82,87]. However, we do not know to what extent the individual tits gained in fitness from the social learning; it is not always obvious that social information is more valuable than personal information [4]. A cornerstone of ecological theory is that each species has a unique niche, which encompasses its habitat and use of resources in the presence of competing species and other biotic interactions [88].…”

“…Recently, it has been recognized that non-genetic factors, such as phenotypic plasticity and epigenetics ('inclusive heritability' [84]), must be included in order to more fully understand phenotypic evolution [5,84,85]. According to theory, phenotypic plasticity may accelerate evolutionary change, depending on whether the genotypes that are already fitter have a proportionally higher gain in fitness owing to plasticity than those of the genetically less-fit individuals [4,86]. Social learning may be favoured in fluctuating environments and when prey capture is difficult [1,2].…”

“…Here, we briefly review the literature on social learning in birds. Most insights on social learning in animals come from studies in captivity, and the role of social learning in nature remains rather poorly understood [4,5]. We therefore conducted a study of social learning in the wild, where we cross-fostered eggs of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, to nests of great tits, Parus major, and vice versa, enabling us to quantify the consequences of being reared in a different social context but in an environment otherwise natural to the birds.…”

The evolution of primate general and cultural intelligence

“…conformist social learning). In this respect, information on the developmental and neurocognitive mechanisms underlying social and individual learning is valuable, such as the compatibility of social and individual information-gathering processes, and understanding of the circumstances under which social learning is utilized [82].…”

Conformity without majority? The case for demarcating social from majority influences

“…What is the perceived efficacy of the socially demonstrated option? ; see Kendal et al, 2009;Perreault, Moya, & Boyd, 2012;Rieucau & Giraldeau, 2011).…”