An Experimental Study of Segregation Mechanisms

TL;DR

This study experimentally examines how different incentives influence segregation, revealing that preferences for similarity or diversity significantly affect societal segregation patterns among high-school students.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence on how incentives for neighbor similarity or dissimilarity impact segregation, challenging previous simulation-based conclusions.

Findings

Incentives for similarity increase segregation.

Incentives for dissimilarity reduce segregation.

Human movement patterns differ from simulated models.

Abstract

Segregation is widespread in all realms of human society. Several influential studies have argued that intolerance is not a prerequisite for a segregated society, and that segregation can arise even when people generally prefer diversity. We investigated this paradox experimentally, by letting groups of high-school students play four different real-time interactive games. Incentives for neighbor similarity produced segregation, but incentives for neighbor dissimilarity and neighborhood diversity prevented it. The participants continued to move while their game scores were below optimal, but their individual moves did not consistently take them to the best alternative position. These small differences between human and simulated agents produced different segregation patterns than previously predicted, thus challenging conclusions about segregation arising from these models.