Is it Bad to Make Use of Unverified Information?

Abstract

Agent-based models are often used to study problems of group decision making and group movement from the animal kingdom. Some of the most thoroughly studied processes that have been modelled using agent-based models are the nest-site selection processes of social insects, particularly ants and honey bees. During nest-site selection group members are faced with the problem of choosing the best possible new site to house a colony, but it is also desirable to make the decision over a relatively short time period (an example is the speed-accuracy trade-off). The move from an old nest-site can be instigated because of destruction of the colony's old home, or because the colony has grown too big for its existing home due to reproduction. Often the collective decision on the site of the new home is made with very few members making direct comparisons between viable sites.