Assortativity in cognition

TL;DR

This paper investigates how similarity in cognitive processes among individuals influences cooperation and prosocial behavior, using agent-based models and analytical methods to understand its mechanisms and societal implications.

Contribution

It introduces a model analyzing the impact of cognitive assortativity on cooperation and prosociality, combining simulations with analytical results.

Findings

Cognitive assortativity promotes cooperation.

Assortativity affects the degree of prosocial behavior.

Implications vary for societal desirability.

Abstract

In pairwise interactions assortativity in cognition means that pairs where both decision-makers use the same cognitive process are more likely to occur than what happens under random matching. In this paper we study both the mechanisms determining assortativity in cognition and its effects. In particular, we analyze an applied model where assortativity in cognition helps explain the emergence of cooperation and the degree of prosociality of intuition and deliberation, which are the typical cognitive processes postulated by the dual process theory in psychology. Our findings rely on agent-based simulations, but analytical results are also obtained in a special case. We conclude with examples showing that assortativity in cognition can have different implications in terms of its societal desirability.