Effects of Social Inhibition on Selection of Artifact Capabilities

Tool or artifact use is prevalent in the human race. Over time humans learn, evolve and modify these capabilities in order to achieve their goals facilitating their adaption in an ever changing environment. Once an artifact capability is learned however, humans are often faced with the decision making process of which capabilities to apply at any given time. These decisions are not only affected by their internal states but also the social environment in which they operate. In this study we present a computational multi-agent simulation model that investigates how social inhibition affects the artifact capability-selection process. Inspired by models of social inhibition in the field of specialization, we demonstrate that functioning in a social environment often leads to the inability to select and perform the capabilities that we inherently desire. The model also tests the effects of demand on the capability selection process. Experiments conducted demonstrate that at a group level social inhibition may contribute to a decline in the performance of the group. It is also observed that group performance increases alongside demand suggesting that higher demand may reduce the effects of so-