  In pairwise interactions assortativity in cognition means that pairs where
both decision-makers use the same cognitive process are more likely to occur
than what happens under random matching. In this paper we study both the
mechanisms determining assortativity in cognition and its effects. In
particular, we analyze an applied model where assortativity in cognition helps
explain the emergence of cooperation and the degree of prosociality of
intuition and deliberation, which are the typical cognitive processes
postulated by the dual process theory in psychology. Our findings rely on
agent-based simulations, but analytical results are also obtained in a special
case. We conclude with examples showing that assortativity in cognition can
have different implications in terms of its societal desirability.
