While social learning is widespread, indiscriminate copying of others is rarely beneficial.
Theory suggests that individuals should be selective in what, when, and whom they copy, by …

With the exception of a few model species, individual differences in cognition remain
relatively unstudied in non-human animals. One intriguing possibility is that variation in …

It is often assumed in experiments and models that social learning abilities–how often
individuals copy others, plus who and how they copy–are species-typical. Yet there is …

The theoretical literature from 1985 to the present on the evolution of learning strategies in
variable environments is reviewed, with the focus on deterministic dynamical models that …

Cognitive abilities probably evolve through natural selection if they provide individuals with
fitness benefits. A growing number of studies demonstrate a positive relationship between …

Numerous studies have documented individual differences in exploratory tendencies and
other phenomena related to search, and these differences have been linked to fitness. Here …

Behavioural flexibility is an important component of adaptation because it can help animals
to exploit new or diverse habitats. Due to abundance of novel objects and resources …

Cognition and communication both can be essential for effectively navigating the social
environment and thus, social dynamics could select for enhanced abilities for …

Highlights•We examined how individual behaviour affects collective foraging in honey
bees.•Colonies with more exploiters were better at choosing the best quality food.•Optimal …

There has been extensive game-theoretic modelling of conditions leading to equilibria of
producer–scrounger dichotomies in groups. However there is a surprising paucity of …