Group size in social-ecological systems. Casari, M. & Tagliapietra, C. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(11):2728–2733, March, 2018. ![Group size in social-ecological systems [link]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/link.svg "link")
Paper doi abstract bibtex What is the size of human groups for successful cooperation? Theoretically, the larger the group, the more difficult it is to sustain cooperation. We studied hundreds of villages in the Alps that harvested common property resources for almost six centuries. In the field, the average size of successful villages was around 176 individuals, although the variance was considerable. Overall, however, this average remained stable over time despite a doubling of the region’s population. Multiple social and ecological factors could, in principle, drive group size. Here, we report the predominance of social factors, such as group heterogeneity, over ecological ones, such as managing forest instead of pasture land. Abstract Cooperation becomes more difficult as a group becomes larger, but it is unclear where it will break down. Here, we study group size within well-functioning social-ecological systems. We consider centuries-old evidence from hundreds of communities in the Alps that harvested common property resources. Results show that the average group size remained remarkably stable over about six centuries, in contrast to a general increase in the regional population. The population more than doubled, but although single groups experienced fluctuations over time, the average group size remained stable. Ecological factors, such as managing forest instead of pasture land, played a minor role in determining group size. The evidence instead indicates that factors related to social interactions had a significant role in determining group size. We discuss possible interpretations of the findings based on constraints in individual cognition and obstacles in collective decision making.
@article{casari_group_2018,
title = {Group size in social-ecological systems},
volume = {115},
issn = {0027-8424, 1091-6490},
url = {http://www.pnas.org/lookup/doi/10.1073/pnas.1713496115},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1713496115},
abstract = {What is the size of human groups for successful cooperation? Theoretically, the larger the group, the more difficult it is to sustain cooperation. We studied hundreds of villages in the Alps that harvested common property resources for almost six centuries. In the field, the average size of successful villages was around 176 individuals, although the variance was considerable. Overall, however, this average remained stable over time despite a doubling of the region’s population. Multiple social and ecological factors could, in principle, drive group size. Here, we report the predominance of social factors, such as group heterogeneity, over ecological ones, such as managing forest instead of pasture land.
Abstract
Cooperation becomes more difficult as a group becomes larger, but it is unclear where it will break down. Here, we study group size within well-functioning social-ecological systems. We consider centuries-old evidence from hundreds of communities in the Alps that harvested common property resources. Results show that the average group size remained remarkably stable over about six centuries, in contrast to a general increase in the regional population. The population more than doubled, but although single groups experienced fluctuations over time, the average group size remained stable. Ecological factors, such as managing forest instead of pasture land, played a minor role in determining group size. The evidence instead indicates that factors related to social interactions had a significant role in determining group size. We discuss possible interpretations of the findings based on constraints in individual cognition and obstacles in collective decision making.},
language = {en},
number = {11},
urldate = {2018-03-13},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
author = {Casari, Marco and Tagliapietra, Claudio},
month = mar,
year = {2018},
keywords = {collapse, sociology},
pages = {2728--2733},
file = {Casari and Tagliapietra - 2018 - Group size in social-ecological systems.pdf:C\:\\Users\\rsrs\\Documents\\Zotero Database\\storage\\Q7L9JSHV\\Casari and Tagliapietra - 2018 - Group size in social-ecological systems.pdf:application/pdf}
}
Downloads: 0
{"_id":"ju93MBrmuioXa38GB","bibbaseid":"casari-tagliapietra-groupsizeinsocialecologicalsystems-2018","authorIDs":[],"author_short":["Casari, M.","Tagliapietra, C."],"bibdata":{"bibtype":"article","type":"article","title":"Group size in social-ecological systems","volume":"115","issn":"0027-8424, 1091-6490","url":"http://www.pnas.org/lookup/doi/10.1073/pnas.1713496115","doi":"10.1073/pnas.1713496115","abstract":"What is the size of human groups for successful cooperation? Theoretically, the larger the group, the more difficult it is to sustain cooperation. We studied hundreds of villages in the Alps that harvested common property resources for almost six centuries. In the field, the average size of successful villages was around 176 individuals, although the variance was considerable. Overall, however, this average remained stable over time despite a doubling of the region’s population. Multiple social and ecological factors could, in principle, drive group size. Here, we report the predominance of social factors, such as group heterogeneity, over ecological ones, such as managing forest instead of pasture land. Abstract Cooperation becomes more difficult as a group becomes larger, but it is unclear where it will break down. Here, we study group size within well-functioning social-ecological systems. We consider centuries-old evidence from hundreds of communities in the Alps that harvested common property resources. Results show that the average group size remained remarkably stable over about six centuries, in contrast to a general increase in the regional population. The population more than doubled, but although single groups experienced fluctuations over time, the average group size remained stable. Ecological factors, such as managing forest instead of pasture land, played a minor role in determining group size. The evidence instead indicates that factors related to social interactions had a significant role in determining group size. We discuss possible interpretations of the findings based on constraints in individual cognition and obstacles in collective decision making.","language":"en","number":"11","urldate":"2018-03-13","journal":"Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences","author":[{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Casari"],"firstnames":["Marco"],"suffixes":[]},{"propositions":[],"lastnames":["Tagliapietra"],"firstnames":["Claudio"],"suffixes":[]}],"month":"March","year":"2018","keywords":"collapse, sociology","pages":"2728–2733","file":"Casari and Tagliapietra - 2018 - Group size in social-ecological systems.pdf:C\\:\\\\Users\\s̊rs\\\\Documents\\\\Zotero Database\\\\storage\\\\Q7L9JSHV\\\\Casari and Tagliapietra - 2018 - Group size in social-ecological systems.pdf:application/pdf","bibtex":"@article{casari_group_2018,\n\ttitle = {Group size in social-ecological systems},\n\tvolume = {115},\n\tissn = {0027-8424, 1091-6490},\n\turl = {http://www.pnas.org/lookup/doi/10.1073/pnas.1713496115},\n\tdoi = {10.1073/pnas.1713496115},\n\tabstract = {What is the size of human groups for successful cooperation? Theoretically, the larger the group, the more difficult it is to sustain cooperation. We studied hundreds of villages in the Alps that harvested common property resources for almost six centuries. In the field, the average size of successful villages was around 176 individuals, although the variance was considerable. Overall, however, this average remained stable over time despite a doubling of the region’s population. Multiple social and ecological factors could, in principle, drive group size. Here, we report the predominance of social factors, such as group heterogeneity, over ecological ones, such as managing forest instead of pasture land.\n\nAbstract\nCooperation becomes more difficult as a group becomes larger, but it is unclear where it will break down. Here, we study group size within well-functioning social-ecological systems. We consider centuries-old evidence from hundreds of communities in the Alps that harvested common property resources. Results show that the average group size remained remarkably stable over about six centuries, in contrast to a general increase in the regional population. The population more than doubled, but although single groups experienced fluctuations over time, the average group size remained stable. Ecological factors, such as managing forest instead of pasture land, played a minor role in determining group size. The evidence instead indicates that factors related to social interactions had a significant role in determining group size. We discuss possible interpretations of the findings based on constraints in individual cognition and obstacles in collective decision making.},\n\tlanguage = {en},\n\tnumber = {11},\n\turldate = {2018-03-13},\n\tjournal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},\n\tauthor = {Casari, Marco and Tagliapietra, Claudio},\n\tmonth = mar,\n\tyear = {2018},\n\tkeywords = {collapse, sociology},\n\tpages = {2728--2733},\n\tfile = {Casari and Tagliapietra - 2018 - Group size in social-ecological systems.pdf:C\\:\\\\Users\\\\rsrs\\\\Documents\\\\Zotero Database\\\\storage\\\\Q7L9JSHV\\\\Casari and Tagliapietra - 2018 - Group size in social-ecological systems.pdf:application/pdf}\n}\n\n","author_short":["Casari, M.","Tagliapietra, C."],"key":"casari_group_2018","id":"casari_group_2018","bibbaseid":"casari-tagliapietra-groupsizeinsocialecologicalsystems-2018","role":"author","urls":{"Paper":"http://www.pnas.org/lookup/doi/10.1073/pnas.1713496115"},"keyword":["collapse","sociology"],"downloads":0,"html":""},"bibtype":"article","biburl":"http://www.collapsologie.fr/bib.bib","creationDate":"2019-06-13T15:56:09.185Z","downloads":0,"keywords":["collapse","sociology"],"search_terms":["group","size","social","ecological","systems","casari","tagliapietra"],"title":"Group size in social-ecological systems","year":2018,"dataSources":["97shAbFSxL7A7SHoh"]}