López-Pintado & Watts show that binary #decisions under #SocialInfluence can be modeled as an ‘influence-response function’: choice depends on how many others pick each option. In some cases, general knowledge of this function is enough to determine collective outcomes.
#ThrowbackThursday
Sven Banisch, @eckolb.bsky.social et al. built an #ABM where #ReinforcementLearning users choose #SocialMedia platforms based on social approval and #diversity. They show a #SocialDilemma: #EchoChambers can arise even when users prefer diversity, making everyone worse off.
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
Niclas Berggren develops a model that focuses on how strongly citizens believe there are #moral truths in #politics. The paper explains why this belief tends to increase the costs of #collective #organization.
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
We think of the #StockMarket as unpredictable – yet for 70 years, US shares averaged a “socially acceptable price” shaped by the Great Depression.
Fei Qiu and colleagues examine whether this holds beyond the US, discussing #government regulation and #CollectiveAction.
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
Katie Corcoran, @cjcolyer.bsky.social, and colleagues show that #religious activities can make the devout targets of crime. They view #criminal offenders as #rational predators who pick up on vulnerability signals and exploit the opportunities these activities create.
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
Laurent Gauthier shows with #GameTheory why humans benefited from using single names ( #anthroponyms like Socrates) and how exchanging this minimal identity information can promote #cooperation.
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
Karl-Dieter Opp opens a new line of research by comparing two theories of #SocialNorm emergence and showcasing a #methodology of #theory integration.
#SocialScience #OpenAccess
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
Artyom Jelnov studies #elections where some candidates have advantages unrelated to #competence – due to #nepotism, celebrity status, or looks. He shows that a small advantage of this sort can be amplified by rational #politicalparty leadership during #candidate selection.
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
Read in February’26 issue:
✒️ How to integrate theories of norm emergence
🪪 A rational case for using first names
🙏 Why criminals target the devout
📈 How government and collective action anchor share prices
#BehavioralScience #GameTheory @journals.sagepub.com
🔗 journals.sagepub.com/toc/rssa/38/1
What kind of mind is needed to sustain #cooperation?
🪞 Naïve belief that others think like me — or
🧠 Complex #TheoryOfMind that helps us read their motives?
Wu finds that in sequential #PrisonersDilemma, cooperation breaks down when players model each other's minds.
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
João Souto-Maior shows that Black–White #educational #inequality can paradoxically emerge even when people don't discriminate by race.
#ABM study of #OpportunityHoarding where #diffusion clashes with #network #segregation and #consolidation of #race and #SES:
#OpenAccess 🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
Back & Flache ask whether #evolutionary models can explain why people stay committed to long-term partners even when they sometimes don’t cooperate.
✍️ #Reciprocity sustains #cooperation by punishing defection; #commitment -- by choosing and sticking with cooperative partners.
#ThrowbackThursday
Jonas Stein?
Doctor Jonas Stein!
R&S former Managing editor, now Dr. Jonas Stein, in the midst of brilliantly defending his thesis, supervised by R&S Editor in Chief, Prof. Andreas Flache.
🔗 Reconciling epistemic and identity diversity share.google/s9XwzsqS84CK...
If people act #rationally given their preferences, why would they be #cooperative, fair and committed when they can be selfish?
Güth & Kliemt explain that social #preferences persist during #evolution when they lead to objectively better outcomes than pure self-interest.
#ThrowbackThursday
The quality and integrity of Rationality and Society rely on the time, care, and expertise of our volunteer reviewers. Their thoughtful evaluations help ensure contributions are rigorous, clear, and engaging. The Editorial Team warmly thanks our referees for their invaluable reviews in 2024/2025 ⤵️
As the R&S managing editor has to work from home while snowfalls lock up the Dutch transportation system, she finds herself pondering how #snowmobile trails are organized ❄️
Cue a #ThrowbackThursday read by Anttila & Stern on how local #SelfOrganization solves this #CommonPool resource problem
Is #morality "rational"?
Even "broad" #RationalChoice theory doesn't fully resolve a paradox: Cheating can be seen as rational, but following a "Never lie" norm can’t 🤔
Palacio-Vera offers a way out: Reconsidering what’s rational and combining theoretical frameworks.
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
Do #prosocial people sustain #cooperation?
Bouman & Dijkstra @rug.nl ran an #experiment with repeated #SocialDilemma where enough resourceful players needed to invest in #PublicGood.
Takeaway: When others don’t contribute, altruists quickly learn to free-ride.
#OpenAccess: doi.org/10.1177/1043...
Modern hunter-gatherers live by “to each according to need” rule, even though it’s not enforced by leaders or police. Why? Is #fairness ⚖️ a ‘natural duty’?
Binmore traces the #evolution of this #SocialNorm back to prehistoric times, when care and resources were shared among kin.
#ThrowbackThursday
Academic housekeeper (she/her)
With #EqualPay and no #GenderInequality in workload, is #labor #discrimination in #academia overcome?
No, say Yabut & Arapoc. Low-promotable academic housework – committee, community, admin – falls more on the shoulders of married women.
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
“Bregretful” from the start 🇬🇧
Even before the UK left the EU, some #Brexit supporters were rethinking their vote.
@sofizqsan.bsky.social & Kara trace who changed their minds in 2017–2019 — and what that says about using #referendums to settle complex issues.
#OpenAccess: doi.org/10.1177/1043...
Read in November’25 issue:
🇬🇧 Who regretted #Brexit?
🎓 What gender are “ #academic housekeepers”?
🤝 When do #altruists turn free-riders?
🤔 What explains #morality?
🧠 Does #TheoryOfMind hinder #cooperation?
#BehavioralScience #GameTheory @journals.sagepub.com
🔗 journals.sagepub.com/toc/rssa/37/4
So what are #emotions?
🔨 Tools that rational agents use for #strategic calculation?
🧲 Or forces that shape #social life — directing attention, defining what counts as #rational #choice?
Smith-Lovin argues that emotions frame rationality itself. 🎞
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...
Frank saw #emotions as adding weight to promises and threats — enabling #cooperation in #PrisonersDilemma. But his #GameTheory model was criticized.
Ross & Dumouchel reframe emotions as #SocialSignals that help us coordinate on “which game” we’re playing.
🔗 journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...
"I don't tip because society says I have to”?
In the paper following the renowned book “Passions Within Reason”, Frank explains why we commit to tipping and other #SocialNorms that go against our #SelfInterest.
Opening #ThrowbackThursday 🧵 on #emotions in #rationality:
🔗 doi.org/10.1177/1043...