The Effects of Peer Information on Problem-Solving in a Connected Group

Thomas N. Wisdom - Dept. of Psychological & Brain Sciences - Indiana University 
Xianfeng Song - Dept. of Physics - Indiana University 
Robert L. Goldstone - Dept. of Psychological & Brain Sciences - Indiana University

In this experiment, we implemented a problem-solving task in which
groups of participants simultaneously play a simple puzzle game, with
score feedback provided after each of 24 rounds. Each participant in a
group is allowed to view and imitate the guesses of others during the
game. Results show that when the utility of others' innovations is
unambiguous, individuals base their own solutions on personal
innovation and productively imitate other players' innovations early
on, and that this tendency to imitate is proportional to the amount of
information available from others. Results are consistent with
previously studied social learning strategies in several taxa.