Social roles are neither predetermined nor set in stone, study in mice suggests

In animal societies as in human ones, some individuals regularly produce resources while others appropriate them. Contrary to what evolutionary theories had previously suggested, these social roles do not depend solely on innate individual predispositions. A study in mice conducted by scientists from CNRS² and Sorbonne Université shows that the distribution and stabilization of these roles within groups arise from a collective dynamic shaped by random early interactions and by learning.