Paths to Diversity: A Simulation of Conformity in Environments with Different Geometries

The geometry of the environment can affect numerous psychological, social, and ecological processes. But its roles in social learning and the dynamics of descriptive norms remain unclear. Here we use agent-based modeling to explore how environments with different geometric shapes can influence social learning to produce variations in the extent of universally shared descriptive norms. Our simulations show that an environment with an irregular layout facilitates the emergence of multiple descriptive norms in a population, whereas an environment with a regular grid plan constrains social learning to produce a behaviorally homogeneous population.