How computation can predict group conflict: Fighting among captive pigtailed macaques provides clues
Monday, August 13, 2012 - 19:00
in Psychology & Sociology
When conflict breaks out in social groups, individuals make strategic decisions about how to behave based on their understanding of alliances and feuds in the group. But it's been challenging to quantify the underlying trends that dictate how individuals make predictions, given they may only have seen a small number of fights or have limited memory. In a new study of primates (pigtailed macaques), scientists have developed a computational approach to determine whether individuals behave predictably.