title: Social Information Transmission in Animals: Lessons from Studies of Diffusion.
abstract: The capacity to use information provided by others to guide behavior is a widespread phenomenon in animal societies. A standard paradigm to test if and/or how animals use and transfer social information is through social diffusion experiments, by which researchers observe how information spreads within a group, sometimes by seeding new behavior in the population. In this article, we review the context, methodology and products of such social diffusion experiments. Our major focus is the transmission of information from an individual (or group thereof) to another, and the factors that can enhance or, more interestingly, inhibit it. We therefore also discuss reasons why social transmission sometimes does not occur despite being expected to. We span a full range of mechanisms and processes, from the nature of social information itself and the cognitive abilities of various species, to the idea of social competency and the constraints imposed by the social networks in which animals are embedded. We ultimately aim at a broad reflection on practical and theoretical issues arising when studying how social information spreads within animal groups.
authors.affiliation: Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueStrasbourg, France; Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Université de StrasbourgStrasbourg, France; Wildlife Research Centre, Kyoto UniversityKyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duboscq
authors.affiliation: Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueStrasbourg, France; Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Université de StrasbourgStrasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Valéria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.affiliation: Wildlife Research Centre, Kyoto UniversityKyoto, Japan; Primate Research Institute, Kyoto UniversityInuyama, Japan.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: MacIntosh
authors.affiliation: Département Ecologie, Physiologie et Ethologie, Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueStrasbourg, France; Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Université de StrasbourgStrasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sueur
keywords: experimental design; information; social cognition; social competency; social network; sociality