Group-living species frequently pool individual information so as to reach consensus decisions such as when and where to move, or whether a predator is present. Such opinion-pooling has been demonstrated empirically, and theoretical models have been proposed to explain why group decisions are more reliable than individual decisions. Behavioural ecology theory frequently assumes that all individuals have equal decision-making abilities, but decision theory relaxes this assumption and has been tested in human groups. We summarise relevant theory and argue for its applicability to collective animal decisions. We consider selective pressure on confidence-weighting in groups of related and unrelated individuals. We also consider which species and behaviours may provide evidence of confidence-weighting, paying particular attention to the sophisticated vocal communication of cooperative breeders.

集体生活的物种经常汇集个人信息，以便达成共识性决定，例如何时何地迁徙，或是否存在掠食者。已经通过经验证明了这种观点汇集，并且已经提出了理论模型来解释为什么集体决策比个人决策更可靠的原因。行为生态学理论经常假设所有个人都具有相同的决策能力，但是决策论则放宽了这一假设，并已在人类群体中进行了检验。我们总结了相关理论，并争辩说其适用于集体动物决策。我们考虑对相关和不相关的个​​人进行信心加权的选择性压力。我们还考虑了哪些物种和行为可能提供置信度加权的证据，