The name of the game: predictive power of reputations versus situational labels in determining prisoner's dilemma game moves

Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2004 Sep;30(9):1175-85. doi: 10.1177/0146167204264004.

Abstract

Two experiments, one conducted with American college students and one with Israeli pilots and their instructors, explored the predictive power of reputation-based assessments versus the stated "name of the game" (Wall Street Game vs. Community Game) in determining players' responses in an N-move Prisoner's Dilemma. The results of these studies showed that the relevant labeling manipulations exerted far greater impact on the players' choice to cooperate versus defect--both in the first round and overall--than anticipated by the individuals who had predicted their behavior. Reputation-based prediction, by contrast, failed to discriminate cooperators from defectors. A supplementary questionnaire study showed the generality of the relevant short-coming in naïve psychology. The implications of these findings, and the potential contribution of the present methodology to the classic pedagogical strategy of the demonstration experiment, are discussed.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Cooperative Behavior*
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison
  • Decision Making*
  • Female
  • Game Theory*
  • Humans
  • Individuality
  • Interpersonal Relations*
  • Israel
  • Likelihood Functions
  • Machiavellianism
  • Male
  • Military Personnel / psychology
  • Motivation
  • Personality Assessment*
  • Social Conformity
  • Social Perception*
  • Students / psychology
  • United States