The impact of social learners on collective decision-making across varying interaction ranges

Abstract

The study of the impact of social learners on collective decision-making within a group has attracted considerable attention, but studies considering the influence of social learners on collective performance under different interaction ranges are still limited. In this study, we investigate the collective decision-making dynamics driven by merit and conformity within a structured population with limited interaction ranges. Our numerical simulation results show that when the fraction of social learners surpasses a critical threshold, a bistable state emerges, where the majority may eventually support either the higher- or lower-merit option. Furthermore, the critical threshold of the proportion of social learners is influenced not only by the relative merit of the two options but also by the interaction range of social learners. A larger relative merit leads to a higher critical threshold, while a larger interaction range results in a lower critical threshold.