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Individual characteristics and behavior in repeated games: an experimental study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Douglas Davis
Affiliation:
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA
Asen Ivanov*
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Finance, Queen Mary, University of London, 327 Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
Oleg Korenok
Affiliation:
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA

Abstract

Using a laboratory experiment, we investigate whether a variety of behaviors in repeated games are related to an array of individual characteristics that are popular in economics: risk attitude, time preference, trust, trustworthiness, altruism, strategic skills in one-shot matrix games, compliance with first-order stochastic dominance, ability to plan ahead, and gender. We do find some systematic relationships. A subject’s compliance with first-order stochastic dominance as well as, possibly, patience, gender, and altruism have some systematic effects on her behavior in repeated games. At the level of a pair of subjects who are playing a repeated game, each subject’s gender as well as, possibly, patience and ability to choose an available dominant strategy in a one-shot matrix game systematically affect the frequency of the cooperate–cooperate outcome. However, overall, the number of systematic relationships is surprisingly small.

Type
Original Paper
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 Economic Science Association

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Footnotes

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10683-014-9427-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Appendix: Measurement Error
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