Migration does not always make cultures more alike, study finds

A simulation suggests that conformity can preserve or increase differences between populations, depending on how strong it is and how much migration occurs.

Editorial illustration — not from the study.

Researchers developed a simulation of two populations in which genetic and cultural traits changed together under different levels of migration and different patterns of cultural transmission. They compared unbiased transmission with conformity, in which common traits are favored, and anti-conformity, in which less common traits are favored.

Anti-conformity increased differences within and between populations across all migration levels tested. Conformity had a more variable effect: it could promote similarity when weak relative to migration, but could sustain or increase differences when strong enough. The balance between migration and conformity determined whether populations converged, diverged or retained structured variation.

How migration shaped culture

The simulation found that anti-conformity promoted greater differentiation within and between the two populations than unbiased cultural transmission, regardless of migration rate. Conformity did not have one fixed effect. When it was weak compared with migration, it could support homogenisation; when it was strong enough, it could maintain or increase differences between populations. Higher migration rates required stronger conformity to sustain those differences. These results were robust to the populations’ initial level of heterogeneity.

Why the balance matters

The findings suggest that migration alone is not enough to predict whether cultures will become more alike. The way cultural traits are passed on—and particularly the strength and direction of people’s preferences for common or uncommon traits—can change migration’s effect. This means cultural and genetic diversity may respond differently to the same movement of people.

Model evidence and limits

The evidence comes from a simulation model of two populations, rather than observations of real communities or a controlled experiment. The model tested specified scenarios for migration and frequency-dependent cultural transmission, so its conclusions depend on those assumptions. The abstract does not report empirical data, parameter values or how closely the scenarios correspond to particular cultures.

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