Instructions

Welcome to my experiment!

First of all, thank you for your taking time to participate!

During this experiment you will play a game, in which you will have the chance to earn money. During the experiment, communication between participants is not allowed, however all questions can be asked to me via the Zoom chat. Note, that I can answer only non-strategy related questions, i.e., how the game itself works, not which choices you should make. These instructions will be followed by a small comprehension test and will be available during the comprehension test and the experiment at the bottom of each page.

Duration

The game consists of an unknown number of rounds, however the number is between 20 and 40. Each round you will be randomly matched with a new partner. Each round of the game consists of two stages. They will be explained right below:

Stage 1:

In the first stage of each round, you can choose whether you would like to play Option A or Option B. You will choose simultaneously with your partner for that round. The payoff matrix contains information on your as well as your partner’s payoffs, depending on your decisions and your partner’s decisions. When making a decision, you will always see information on the choices of your current partner in the last 5 rounds. In the example below round 2 is shown, so information only on round 1 is available. Information is given on stage 2 of the game (explained below). Information on your past decisions will likewise be displayed to your partner in the current round.

Explanation of payoff matrix:

You have two choices, Option A and Option B, and so does your partner. In each cell, your payoff is the number on the left side of the comma, your partner’s payoff is the number of the right side of the comma. That means:
If you choose Option A and your partner does too, the payoffs will be 3 for both of you.
If you choose Option A and Your partner chooses Option A, the payoffs will be 1 for you and 4 for you partner.
If you choose Option B and your partner does too, the payoffs will be 2 for both of you.
If you choose Option B and your partner chooses Option B, the payoffs will be 4 for you and 1 for your partner.

Stage 2:

In stage 2 you and your partner will simultaneously be informed about each other’s decisions in stage 1 of the round. Then, both of you will simultaneously make a decision, whether you would like to decrease earnings or not. If one of you chooses to do so (or both), both your payoffs will be set to 0. After you made a decision, both your decisions will be displayed to you. That means, that only the earnings of this particular round will be 0, it does not influence earnings in other rounds.

Continuation:

After stage 2 is over, the next round begins. You will again be randomly matched with a new partner and will play the game for an unknown number of rounds, which is between 20 and 40.

Earnings

4 people will randomly be chosen for payoff. They will be paid the earnings of one randomly chosen round. The earnings displayed in the matrix are in experimental points, one experimental point corresponds to 2 euros. After the last round, you will be informed whether you were chosen for payment or not. If yes, you will be asked to fill in your IBAN and paid via bank transfer. If you prefer to get paid via PayPal, please fill in your email address.