Dynamic analysis of evolutionary game considering individual cognition

Cooperation plays a pivotal role across a multitude of domains, influenced by a diverse array of factors. In the real world, cognitive heterogeneity among individuals leads to variation in the extent to which agents with different cognitive levels influence cooperation. This study develops an evolutionary game model incorporating individual cognition and conducts a theoretical analysis thereof. Dynamical systems analysis reveals that the system admits five coexistence states. The results indicate that in environments with strong temptation to defect, high-dimensional cognitive cooperative strategies may confer adaptive advantages on cooperators, enabling them to maintain presence in the population. Specifically, this advantage manifests as follows: when individuals with high-dimensional cognition encounter ordinary collaborators, they can leverage their cognitive advantages to optimize the cooperation or carry out precise exploitation. • An evolutionary game model considering individual cognitive levels is established. • The influence of cognition on cooperative evolution is not monotonous. • Players with high-dimensional cognition have cooperative advantages.