Evolution and Sustainability on the Computer [REPOSITORY]

These models introduce another aspect into the cooperation dynamics of evolving populations - the grouping of agents into separate "ethnicities" or sub-groups and the ability of agents to distinguish between agents of their own and of other groups.

The models lets us explore how and why ethnocentric behavior - i.e. the tendency to cooperate with those within one group and to withhold cooperation from those of other groups - can evolve. The models use payoff matrices to represent outcomes of agent behaviors. The models also show the role of spatial distribution in evolution: only if offspring stay close to their parents and interactions are local is cooperation/ethnocentrism beneficial, because then there is a high probability that agents will interact with agents with the same characteristics. Concepts of kin selection, frequency-dependent selection, and multilevel selection play a role in explaining observable outcomes. 

The models and lesson materials invite reflection about the evolutionary origins of human ethnocentric tendencies, their role in human history, their negative impacts in today's globalized world, and ways to overcome these tendencies.

Ethnocentrism and group selection

This model is an extension of the ethnocentrism model. In the previous model, all ethnicities start with about the same trait frequencies in their populations. In this model, ethnicities can start with different percentages of altruists, ethnocentrists etc. We can observe how this variation between groups leads to different evolutionary success, with groups with the most ethnocentrists outcompeting other groups. This visualizes the idea behind group selection or multi-level selection.