Rational time investment during collective decision making in Temnothorax ants
Rational time investment during collective decision making in Temnothorax ants
复制标题
Temnothorax 蚂蚁集体决策过程中的合理时间投入
作者：
Takao Sasaki;Benjamin Stott;S. Pratt
对人类和其他动物理性选择的研究通常集中在决策结果上，但理性也适用于决策延迟，尤其是在时间稀缺和宝贵的情况下。例如，两个选项之间的质量差异越小，理性行为者就应该越快地在它们之间做出决定。这是因为如果选项相似，选择较差选项的后果就不那么严重。然而，实验表明，人类非理性地花更多的时间在相似的选项之间进行选择。在本研究中，我们评估了岩蚁（Temnothorax albipennis）在选择巢址时时间投入的合理性。先前的研究表明，集体决策可以使蚁群避免某些非理性错误。在这里，我们证明了时间投资也是如此。像人类一样，蚂蚁个体在两个相似的巢穴中选择时，比在两个不太相似的巢穴中选择时，非理性地花费更多的时间来完成迁移。相比之下，当选择更相似时，整个群体理性地做出更快的决定。我们讨论了个体和群体决策的潜在机制，以及它们如何分别导致非理性和理性的时间投资。
The study of rational choice in humans and other animals typically focuses on decision outcomes, but rationality also applies to decision latencies, especially when time is scarce and valuable. For example, the smaller the difference in quality between two options, the faster a rational actor should decide between them. This is because the consequences of choosing the inferior option are less severe if the options are similar. Experiments have shown, however, that humans irrationally spend more time choosing between similar options. In this study, we assessed the rationality of time investment during nest-site choice by the rock ant, Temnothorax albipennis. Previous studies have shown that collective decision-making allows ant colonies to avoid certain irrational errors. Here we show that the same is true for time investment. Individual ants, like humans, irrationally took more time to complete an emigration when choosing between two similar nests than when choosing between two less similar nests. Whole colonies, by contrast, rationally made faster decisions when the options were more similar. We discuss the underlying mechanisms of decision-making in individuals and colonies and how they lead to irrational and rational time investment, respectively.