Work

Majority illusion drives the spontaneous emergence of alternative states in common-pool resource games with network-based information

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Common-pool resources (CPRs), including fisheries and the atmosphere, are critical for ecological, social, and economic sustainability but are easily overused. We use an agent-based model to investigate how social networks shape resource extraction outcomes. Networks with highly visible nodes can create a "majority illusion" in which most users believe high-intensity extraction is dominant, even if it is not. This misperception can push the entire population toward one of two possible states: an abundant, high-welfare resource or a depleted, low-welfare one. Aligning users' environmental impact with their visibility can mitigate this effect and steer the system toward a single, predictable outcome. These results suggest that network-based policies, such as reshaping information flows, particularly targeting high-impact hubs, could help stabilize cooperative behaviors and encourage sustainable management of CPRs, reducing the risk of tragedy-of-the-commons scenarios.

Source: iScience

DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.112831

Authors: Nicolas Schrama, Andrew R. Tilman, Vítor V. Vasconcelos

Institutions: University of Amsterdam, Northern Research Station

Language: English

Topic: Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Life on land

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,240