title: Moderate intra-group bias maximizes cooperation on interdependent populations.
abstract: Evolutionary game theory on spatial structures has received increasing attention during the past decades. However, the majority of these achievements focuses on single and static population structures, which is not fully consistent with the fact that real structures are composed of many interactive groups. These groups are interdependent on each other and present dynamical features, in which individuals mimic the strategy of neighbors and switch their partnerships continually. It is however unclear how the dynamical and interdependent interactions among groups affect the evolution of collective behaviors. In this work, we employ the prisoner's dilemma game to investigate how the dynamics of structure influences cooperation on interdependent populations, where populations are represented by group structures. It is found that the more robust the links between cooperators (or the more fragile the links between cooperators and defectors), the more prevalent of cooperation. Furthermore, theoretical analysis shows that the intra-group bias can favor cooperation, which is only possible when individuals are likely to attach neighbors within the same group. Yet, interestingly, cooperation can be even inhibited for large intra-group bias, allowing the moderate intra-group bias maximizes the cooperation level.
authors.affiliation: Adaptive Networks and Control Lab, Department of Electronic Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Changbing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong ; Center for Nonlinear Studies and the Beijing-Hong Kong-Singapore Joint Center for Nonlinear and Complex systems (Hong Kong), Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Adaptive Networks and Control Lab, Department of Electronic Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005716:Game Theory; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008390:Markov Chains; D015233:Models, Statistical; D016011:Normal Distribution; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011336:Probability; D012919:Social Behavior