Conformity in scientific networks

Scientists are generally subject to social pressures, including pressures to conform with others in their communities, that affect achievement of their epistemic goals. Here we analyze a network epistemology model in which agents, all else being equal, prefer to take actions that conform with those...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSynthese (Dordrecht) Vol. 198; no. 8; pp. 7257 - 7278
Main Authors Weatherall, James Owen, O’Connor, Cailin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Dordrecht Springer Science + Business Media 01.08.2021
Springer Netherlands
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Belief & doubt
Conformity
Education
Epistemology
Logic
Metaphysics
Philosophy
Philosophy of Language
Philosophy of Science
False beliefs
Epistemic networks
Conformity
Small worlds
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Summary:Scientists are generally subject to social pressures, including pressures to conform with others in their communities, that affect achievement of their epistemic goals. Here we analyze a network epistemology model in which agents, all else being equal, prefer to take actions that conform with those of their neighbors. This preference for conformity interacts with the agents’ beliefs about which of two (or more) possible actions yields the better result. We find a range of possible outcomes, including stable polarization in belief and action. The model results are sensitive to network structure. In general, though, conformity has a negative effect on a community’s ability to reach accurate consensus about the world.
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ISSN:0039-7857
1573-0964
DOI:10.1007/s11229-019-02520-2