Emergence of Leadership within a Homogeneous Group.

Large scale coordination without dominant, consistent leadership is frequent in nature. How individuals emerge from within the group as leaders, however transitory this position may be, has become an increasingly common question asked. This question is further complicated by the fact that in many of...

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Main Authors: Brent E Eskridge, Elizabeth Valle, Ingo Schlupp
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4520564?pdf=render
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author Brent E Eskridge
Elizabeth Valle
Ingo Schlupp
author_facet Brent E Eskridge
Elizabeth Valle
Ingo Schlupp
author_sort Brent E Eskridge
collection DOAJ
description Large scale coordination without dominant, consistent leadership is frequent in nature. How individuals emerge from within the group as leaders, however transitory this position may be, has become an increasingly common question asked. This question is further complicated by the fact that in many of these aggregations, differences between individuals are minor and the group is largely considered to be homogeneous. In the simulations presented here, we investigate the emergence of leadership in the extreme situation in which all individuals are initially identical. Using a mathematical model developed using observations of natural systems, we show that the addition of a simple concept of leadership tendencies which is inspired by observations of natural systems and is affected by experience can produce distinct leaders and followers using a nonlinear feedback loop. Most importantly, our results show that small differences in experience can promote the rapid emergence of stable roles for leaders and followers. Our findings have implications for our understanding of adaptive behaviors in initially homogeneous groups, the role experience can play in shaping leadership tendencies, and the use of self-assessment in adapting behavior and, ultimately, self-role-assignment.
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spelling doaj.art-88ee687988dd4c7396878830160396af2022-12-21T23:58:00ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01107e013422210.1371/journal.pone.0134222Emergence of Leadership within a Homogeneous Group.Brent E EskridgeElizabeth ValleIngo SchluppLarge scale coordination without dominant, consistent leadership is frequent in nature. How individuals emerge from within the group as leaders, however transitory this position may be, has become an increasingly common question asked. This question is further complicated by the fact that in many of these aggregations, differences between individuals are minor and the group is largely considered to be homogeneous. In the simulations presented here, we investigate the emergence of leadership in the extreme situation in which all individuals are initially identical. Using a mathematical model developed using observations of natural systems, we show that the addition of a simple concept of leadership tendencies which is inspired by observations of natural systems and is affected by experience can produce distinct leaders and followers using a nonlinear feedback loop. Most importantly, our results show that small differences in experience can promote the rapid emergence of stable roles for leaders and followers. Our findings have implications for our understanding of adaptive behaviors in initially homogeneous groups, the role experience can play in shaping leadership tendencies, and the use of self-assessment in adapting behavior and, ultimately, self-role-assignment.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4520564?pdf=render
spellingShingle Brent E Eskridge
Elizabeth Valle
Ingo Schlupp
Emergence of Leadership within a Homogeneous Group.
PLoS ONE
title Emergence of Leadership within a Homogeneous Group.
title_full Emergence of Leadership within a Homogeneous Group.
title_fullStr Emergence of Leadership within a Homogeneous Group.
title_full_unstemmed Emergence of Leadership within a Homogeneous Group.
title_short Emergence of Leadership within a Homogeneous Group.
title_sort emergence of leadership within a homogeneous group
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4520564?pdf=render
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