Version 1
: Received: 19 March 2022 / Approved: 23 March 2022 / Online: 23 March 2022 (12:36:52 CET)
Version 2
: Received: 13 September 2022 / Approved: 13 September 2022 / Online: 13 September 2022 (15:59:57 CEST)
How to cite:
Olarewaju, E. The Collective Mind: An Experimental Analysis of Imitation and Self‑organization in Humans. Preprints2022, 2022030316. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202203.0316.v2
Olarewaju, E. The Collective Mind: An Experimental Analysis of Imitation and Self‑organization in Humans. Preprints 2022, 2022030316. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202203.0316.v2
Olarewaju, E. The Collective Mind: An Experimental Analysis of Imitation and Self‑organization in Humans. Preprints2022, 2022030316. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202203.0316.v2
APA Style
Olarewaju, E. (2022). The Collective Mind: An Experimental Analysis of Imitation and Self‑organization in Humans. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202203.0316.v2
Chicago/Turabian Style
Olarewaju, E. 2022 "The Collective Mind: An Experimental Analysis of Imitation and Self‑organization in Humans" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202203.0316.v2
Abstract
I present an experimental paradigm to explore the interpersonal dynamics generating a collective mind. I hypothesized that collective organization is based on dual interpersonal modes: (1) symmetrical and (2) anti‑symmetrical. I specified the geometric topology of these modes by detecting the spatiotemporal patterns that embed cooperative agents in a three‑dimensional matrix. I found that the symmetrical mode is executed automatically and without guidance. Conversely, the anti‑symmetrical mode required explicit direction and recruited attention for execution. I demonstrate that self‑other mirror‑symmetry stabilized group dynamics, enabled fast and efficient symmetrical imitation that optimized information transmission, whereas anti‑symmetrical imitation was comparatively slow, inefficient, and unstable. I determined that the anti‑symmetrical mode spontaneously transitioned to the symmetrical mode under perturbations. Crucially, this renormalization mechanism never transitioned from symmetrical to anti‑symmetrical. These self-organizing dynamics speak to interpersonal symmetry‑breaking. In the present work, spontaneous group choice mandated that agents synchronize cooperative cycles in symmetrical space under internal or external perturbations. I provide examples to illustrate that this self-regulating pullback attractor manifests in invertebrates and vertebrates alike. I conclude by suggesting that inter‑agent symmetry provides the social stability manifold through which attention-driven interactions enable intrapersonal and interpersonal change.
Keywords
; Social interaction ; Self-organization ; Imitation ; Coordination dynamics; Group normalization; Interpersonal symmetry
Subject
Social Sciences, Cognitive Science
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Received:
13 September 2022
Commenter:
Emmanuel Olarewaju
Commenter's Conflict of Interests:
Author
Comment: I removed several errors and updated Experiment 1's result section. I added citations and arguments throughout the manuscript to increase the clarity of the study's results.
Commenter: Emmanuel Olarewaju
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author