Emergent cultural signatures and persistent diversity: A model of conformity and consistency

Abstract

Empirical evidence demonstrates that cultures exist, they differ from one another, they’re coherent and yet diversity persists within them. In this paper, we describe a multi-dimensional model of cultural formation that produces all of these properties. Our model includes two forces: an internal desire to be consistent and social pressure to conform. When both forces operate, the society converges to a coordinated behavior that is consistent across the attributes. We find that convergence in the two-force model is slower than a pure conformity model and that a preponderance of one force over the other slows convergence, rather than hastening it. We further find that the two forces amplify small errors in individual behavior and prove capable of producing substantial persistent diversity.