The Role of Social Identity for Learning in Networks
Third party funded individual grant
Start date : 01.10.2019
End date : 09.10.2021
Project details
Short description
Learning through social networks today plays a key role in individuals’,
firms’, and governments’ decision-making processes. The “social” aspect
of learning refers to the fact that learning is accomplished by
observing other’s behaviour or by communication with others. Different
information sources will typically differ in terms of how close their
social identity is to that of the “learner”. It is thus vital to the
understanding of the social learning process whether and how the social
identity of an information source affects the perception of credibility
of information, the willingness to change one’s expectations based on
this information and ultimately how those factors affect learning
dynamics in networks. The aim of the project is to identify the effect
of social identity on learning in networks and to understand how social
identity is used in social learning. Does it improve efficiency, in
particular increase the speed of learning, or does it lead to
distortions and failure to learn? In laboratory experiments the
researchers will study how different social network structures influence
the dynamics of social learning and discriminatory behaviour. A further
question addressed is how social identity affects the formation of
social networks and thus the source of information that people consult.
