For better research results, let mice be mice

Animal models can serve as gateways for understanding many human communication disorders, but a new study suggests that the established practice of socially isolating mice for such purposes might actually make them poor research models for humans, and a simple shift to a more realistic social environment could greatly improve the utility of the future studies.

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Prisoner's dilemma game reveals cooperation leads to leadership

Game theory has historically studied cooperation and hierarchy, and has sought to explain why individuals cooperate, even though they might be better off not to do so. Researchers now use a specialized graph to map a social network of cooperators and their neighbors; they discovered cooperators can attract more neighbors to follow their behaviors and are more likely to become leaders, indicating different learning patterns exist between cooperators and defectors.

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Consumers trust influencers less when there is a variety of choices for a product

Consumers have been relying on opinion leader recommendations to make choices about product quality and purchases for a long time. It is even more prominent now with the prevalence of influencers on social media platforms. The problem is, when there is a wide variety of the same product, consumers question if a positive recommendation is based on quality or personal preferences.

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Use of social media is taking place both online and offline

Social media has changed how people interact. However, social media use is neither static or specifically linked to certain platforms. Emerging technical capabilities, changes in lifestyle and time management as well as the increasing possibilities to engage in online and offline interaction simultaneously affect our use of social media.

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