PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

What makes successful learners? How Minecraft can helps us understand social learning

Using the video game Minecraft to understand human social learning

2025-04-25
(Press-News.org) The ability to learn socially from one another is a defining feature of the human species. Social learning enables humans to gradually accumulate information across generations. And although we are able to build cities full of skyscrapers, send people into space, and collectively develop cures for diseases, most studies investigating social learning mechanisms focus on relatively simple, abstract tasks that bear little resemblance to real-world social learning environments. As a result, little is known about how humans dynamically integrate asocial and social information in realistic, real-world contexts. To investigate this, an international team of scientists from the Cluster of Excellence Science of Intelligence (SCIoI),  the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (MPIB), the University of Tübingen, and NYU developed a virtual foraging task programmed in the popular video game Minecraft. In their study, published in Nature Communications, they found that adaptability (i.e. flexibly using asocial and social learning strategies, rather than fixed strategies) is the most important driver of success. 

 

“Should I explore on my own or work with the group?”
In the experiment, each participant controls an avatar that destroys Minecraft blocks in order to find resources. Whenever a resource is discovered, a blue splash appears, which is visible to other players, and could potentially provide useful social information about the location of further resources. At the beginning of each round, the players are informed of whether they will be working alone or in a group of four people who can interact with each other in real-time. Additionally, they are tested across two types of environments. In “patchy” environments, resources are clustered together, which means that participants can find numerous blocks containing resources close to each other, while in “random” environments resources are spread out. Thus, social information is particularly valuable in “patchy” environments, since it may reveal other rewards nearby. However, social information has no value in “random” environments, since there is no learnable pattern of resource locations. Each player tries to maximize their own rewards, rather than working towards a collective goal, and thus needs to effectively find rewards using the right balance of individual and social learning strategies.

“Using a game like Minecraft is useful because it simulates real-life challenges. For instance, since you can only see a small part of the game world at a time, you must choose whether to focus on searching on your own or pay attention to what the other players are doing to learn from them,” said Ralf Kurvers, the senior author of the study. “This means that I am constantly faced with a choice: do I follow my own instinct and go search alone, or do I utilize social information (in this case, the blue “splashes”) by following the players who’ve already found something, as they are likely to have found a resource patch?” 
 

New tools for studying the interaction between individual and social learning

Through a newly developed computational method for automating the transcription of visual field data, the scientists measured which objects, events, and other players were observed by each participant, recorded at a rate of 20 times per second. They created a model that brings together where people look, how they move, and the choices they make when foraging. “In simpler terms, we can now predict which block a participant will choose next by combining individual and social learning strategies, all in one computational framework,” explained Charley Wu from the University of Tübingen. “This new approach allows us to connect the learning algorithms that power modern AI with flexible social learning mechanisms that adaptively learn from the successful behaviors of others.”

Why this matters
Altogether, the study bridges a decades-long gap between research on individual and social learning. The results show that humans are not just passive imitators or stubborn individual learners. Rather, they dynamically balance these strategies; adaptive mechanisms of individual and social learning amplify one another, and are driven by a common currency of individual performance.  Furthermore, the extent to which each individual was able to adapt their individual and social learning strategies was the best predictor of their performance. This emphasizes that adaptability, rather than fixed strategies, is what drives human intelligence.

Future implications
This work advances our understanding of the cognitive mechanisms underlying adaptive learning and decision-making in social contexts, opening new pathways for understanding how information spreads in groups, how new innovations emerge, and gives clues on how to design systems that better foster adaptive learning in social settings. 

In brief:

•    The study shows that adaptability, i.e. the flexible switching between individual and social learning, is crucial for success.

The researchers used the video game Minecraft to study social learning processes in a dynamic, realistic environment. Using a new computer-based method for capturing visual field data, individual and social learning strategies could be precisely modelled and predicted. The results close a research gap and show that people dynamically adapt learning strategies – an important factor for the design of learning environments and information dissemination in social groups. END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Researchers create ‘super stem cells’, seeing potential for improved fertility treatment

2025-04-25
Imagine if reducing your caloric intake could make you younger? This is almost the case with stem cells. In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have successfully created stem cells that are better at developing into other cell types, like a younger, fitter version of themselves – by changing their diet. These stem cells are better than normal stem cells at creating specialized cells like liver, skin or nerve cells, which is a core trait of stem cells. “We show that by changing their diet, the stem cells can rejuvenate and turn into ‘super stem cells’. It forces them to metabolize their energy in a different way than they normally would, and ...

Empathic comforting varies more within bonobo and chimpanzee species than between them

2025-04-25
Psychologists from Durham University, UK, observed the behaviour of 90 sanctuary-living apes to establish whether bonobos were more likely than chimpanzees to comfort others in distress.  The study, led by Dr Jake Brooker, found that both species consoled their peers at similar rates, with the greatest variation actually occurring within each species.  This challenges long-held assumptions that bonobos are the more empathic ape and instead highlights the variation within each species.  It is the first time that the two species’ consolation tendencies have been directly compared.  The ...

AACR 2025: Colon cancer risk reduction, predicting melanoma spread and new drug therapies among Ohio State findings

2025-04-25
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new targeted drug treatment for small cell lung cancer, understanding how obesity drives endometrial cancer, and predicting early-stage melanoma spread are among the research topics being presented by scientists with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) at the American Association for Cancer Research® (AACR) Annual Meeting April 25-30 in Chicago. A focal point for the cancer research community, the ...

Landmark 20-year screening program drives down colorectal cancer cases, deaths

2025-04-25
BETHESDA, MD. (April 25, 2025) — A 20-year initiative that offered flexible options for colorectal cancer screening at a major integrated health system doubled colorectal cancer screening rates, cut cancer incidence by a third, halved deaths, and brought racial differences in outcomes to nearly zero, according to a study to be presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2025. “By offering an effective screening approach equally to everyone, we were able to eliminate much of the disparity,” said lead researcher Douglas Corley, MD, PhD, from the Kaiser Permanente ...

Can a baby’s DNA predict future disease? This study says it might

2025-04-25
BETHESDA, MD. (April 25, 2025) — The umbilical cord may become a crystal ball of sorts, helping doctors predict the future of children at risk for long-term health problems, including diabetes, stroke, and liver disease. DNA changes found in cord blood could offer early clues about which infants are at higher risk — opening the door to earlier and potentially life-saving interventions, according to research to be presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2025. “We’re seeing kids develop metabolic problems earlier and earlier, which puts them at higher risk for serious complications as adults,” said ...

Gene mutations linked to worse outcomes in stomach cancer

2025-04-25
BETHESDA, MD. (April 25, 2025) — Researchers using next-generation DNA sequencing have identified four specific genes whose mutations are linked to the development and progression of lethal stomach cancers. This could potentially enable doctors to offer targeted treatments that would spare many patients from unnecessarily aggressive procedures, according to a study scheduled for presentation at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2025. "Not all stomach cancers are equal,” said Ulysses Ribeiro, MD, PhD, the study’s lead author and a professor at the Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo in Brazil. “Today, most gastric cancers are treated the ...

Blood proteins can predict liver disease up to 16 years before symptoms

2025-04-25
BETHESDA, MD (April 25, 2025) — Scientists have identified five specific blood proteins that can accurately predict a person’s risk for developing a serious form of liver disease as early as 16 years before they experience symptoms, enabling early intervention and possible prevention and treatment, according to a study to be presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2025. The findings address metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), which has become the most common form of liver disease worldwide and is continuing to increase. People with MASLD face up to twice the mortality rate of those ...

Study: New DNA-reading technology holds promise for rare disease research

2025-04-25
Cutting-edge DNA mapping technology identified new genetic information that can help researchers decipher more genetic diseases, a new study found. The research will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2025 Meeting, held April 24-28 in Honolulu.  The technology identified more genomic imprinting in DNA—10 times as much—than previously published data. Genomic imprinting occurs when only one parent’s gene is expressed in a child’s genetic makeup, which contributes to rare pediatric diseases, ...

Study: Antibiotic exposure before age two linked to childhood obesity

2025-04-25
Taking antibiotics within the first two years of life is linked to a higher body mass index (BMI) in childhood, according to a new study. The research will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2025 Meeting, held April 24-28 in Honolulu.  Researchers found that children exposed to antibiotics in the first two years of life had a 0.067 higher BMI adjusted for age and sex, a 9% greater risk to be overweight, and a 20% greater risk to be obese than children who were unexposed. Researchers found no correlation between BMI and antibiotic use before pregnancy, during pregnancy, or at birth. Antibiotics ...

Study: Artificial intelligence more accurately identifies child abuse

2025-04-25
Artificial intelligence (AI) can help better identify prevalence of physical abuse of children seen in the emergency room, a new study found. The research will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2025 Meeting, held April 24-28 in Honolulu.  Researchers used a machine-learning model to estimate instances of child abuse seen in emergency departments based on diagnostic codes for high-risk injury and physical abuse. The researchers’ approach better predicted abuse rates than those that rely solely on diagnostic codes entered by a provider or administrative staff. Relying on abuse codes alone ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

War, trade and agriculture spread rice disease across Africa

Study identifies a potential treatment for obesity-linked breathing disorder

From single cells to complex creatures: New study points to origins of animal multicellularity

Language disparities in continuous glucose monitoring for type 2 diabetes

New hormonal pathway links oxytocin to insulin secretion in the pancreas

Optimal management of erosive esophagitis: An evidence-based and pragmatic approach

For patients with multiple cancers, a colorectal cancer diagnosis could be lifesaving — or life-threatening

Digital inhalers may detect early warning signs of COPD flare-ups

Living near harmful algal blooms reduces life expectancy with ALS

Chemical analysis of polyphenolic content and antioxidant screening of 17 African propolis samples using RP-HPLC and spectroscopy

Mount Sinai and Cancer Research Institute team up to improve patient outcomes in immunotherapy

Suicide risk elevated among young adults with disabilities

Safeguarding Mendelian randomization: editorial urges rethink in methodological rigor

Using AI to find persuasive public health messages and automate real-time campaigns

Gene therapy for glaucoma

Teaching robots to build without blueprints

Negative perception of scientists working on AI

How disrupted daily rhythms can affect adolescent brain development

New use for old drug: study finds potential of heart drug for treating growth disorders

Head-to-head study shows bariatric surgery superior to GLP-1 drugs for weight loss

Psychiatric disorders less likely after weight-loss surgery than treatment with GLP-1s

The higher the body mass index, the higher the risk for complications after bariatric surgery

Black patients have higher rate of minor complications after metabolic and bariatric surgery than white patients

A revolution for R&D with the missing link of machine learning — project envisions human-AI expert teams to solve grand challenges

4 ERC Advanced Grants: 10 million Euro for ISTA

ERC awards €2.5 million to TIGEM scientist for project on programmable genetic circuits

Tree rings reveal increasing rainfall seasonality in the Amazon

Scientists find unexpected deep roots in plants

Researchers unveil the immune cells responsible for systemic sclerosis’s deadliest complications

New blood test holds potential to reduce liver transplant failures

[Press-News.org] What makes successful learners? How Minecraft can helps us understand social learning
Using the video game Minecraft to understand human social learning