Skip to main content
Log in

Note on the effect of imitation in social behavior

  • Published:
The bulletin of mathematical biophysics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The discussion given by N. Rashevsky (1949) on the effect of imitation in the mathematical biology of social behavior is generalized by assuming the distributions involved to be normal rather than Laplace distributions, and also by showing how most of the results can be derived without assuming any specific form for the distributions. In particular, it is demonstrated that it is possible, in a sufficiently large population, to have a stable behavior pattern which is quite independent of the desires of the population or of their inherent pattern of response.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature

  • Landahl, H. D. 1938. “A Contribution to the Mathematical Biophysics of Psychophysical Discrimination.”Psychometrika,3, 107–125.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Rashevsky, N. 1948.Mathematical Biophysics. Revised Edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  • — 1949. “Mathematical Biology of Social Behavior: III.”Bull. Math. Biophysics,11, 255–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosser, J. Barkley. 1948. Theory and Application of\(\int_0^z {e^{ - x^2 } } dx and \int_0^z {e^{ - p^2 y^2 } } dy \int_0^y {e^{ - x^2 } } dx,\) p. 19. Brooklyn: Maplton House.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Landau, H.G. Note on the effect of imitation in social behavior. Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics 12, 221–235 (1950). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02478322

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02478322

Keywords

Navigation