Diversity, Trust, and Conformity: A Simulation Study

Sina Fazelpour,Daniel Steel

doi:10.1017/psa.2021.25

Sina Fazelpour, Daniel Steel

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1017/psa.2021.25

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Abstract

AbstractPrevious simulation models have found positive effects of cognitive diversity on group performance, but have not explored effects of diversity in demographics (e.g., gender, ethnicity). In this paper, we present an agent-based model that captures two empirically supported hypotheses about how demographic diversity can improve group performance. The results of our simulations suggest that, even when social identities are not associated with distinctive task-related cognitive resources, demographic diversity can, in certain circumstances, benefit collective performance by counteracting two types of conformity that can arise in homogeneous groups: those relating to group-based trust and those connected to normative expectations toward in-groups.

Highlights

As many societies become increasingly diverse along social and ethnic lines, it is important to study the impacts of diversity on group performance
Simulation 1 supports the view that demographic diversity can improve group performance by reducing the excessive trust individuals place in others
Combined with a di erence of 0.1 between the payo of two options, this re ects the setting of empirical studies of normative in uence where the in uence of conformity pressure on conduct tends to be evaluated in the context of easy tasks

Summary

Introduction

As many societies become increasingly diverse along social and ethnic lines, it is important to study the impacts of diversity on group performance. When turning to simulation-based diversity research, societal interest mainly pertains to the potential e ects of increasing underrepresented groups or demographic diversity. Given their focus on diversity in a cognitive sense, current ABMs provide little direct evidence about how demographic diversity might in uence group performance. Such an approach might be reasonable if demographic diversity only stood to bene t group performance by increasing cognitive diversity. This assumption is common in the elds of psychology, sociology, and organizational research

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