Explaining human cooperation through a dual mechanism of individual and social learning

Abstract

Cooperation on social networks is crucial for understanding human survival and development. Although network structure has been found to significantly influence cooperation, human experiments have observed different cooperation phenomena under similar conditions. While evidence suggests that these differences arise from human exploration, our understanding of its impact mechanisms and characteristics remains limited. Here, we seek to formalize human exploration as an individual learning process involving trial and reflection, and integrate social learning to examine how their interdependence shapes cooperation. We find that individual learning can alter neighbor imitation tendencies, and the resulting shifts in the local cooperative environment feed back into the experiential cognition that guides individual learning. This coupled dynamic makes the ability of social networks to promote cooperation largely dependent on whether individuals focus on long-term payoffs, and exhibits a series of characteristics that can explain previously unexplained and seemingly contradictory cooperation phenomena. Surprisingly, individual learning can promote cooperation more than social learning when its probability is negatively correlated with payoffs, a mechanism rooted in the psychological tendency to avoid trial-and-error when individuals are satisfied with their current payoffs. These results explain the contradictory cooperation phenomenon by accounting for decision preferences and cognitive processes underlying exploration, bridging the gap between theoretical research and reality.