Instructions

Good day! Today you are participating in an experiment that looks into physician decision making under strategic environments. You have been randomly and anonymously grouped with other players. Your payment in each experimental round (total of 20) will depend on the treatment level (“TL”) you will prescribe to a hypothetical patient. The table below shows you the benefits that the patient will get as well as the payment you will get for every TL you prescribe. Note that the applicable conversion rate for this experiment is 10 experimental dollars = 1 US dollar. All players see the same instructions.

Treatment Level	Equivalent Patient Benefit	Payment You Get (Experimental Dollars)
0	5	0
1	6	1.9
2	7	3.6
3	8	5.1
4	9	6.4
5	10	7.5
6	10	8.4
7	10	9.1
8	10	9.6
9	10	9.9
10	10	10

You are given 2 minutes in each round to think of your strategy. You may ask the experimenter questions within these 2 minutes. You are not allowed to talk to other participants. Once you have made your decision, the computer will ask you to confirm your prescribed treatment level in each round of the experiment. You cannot change your decision once you click “confirm”.

At the end of each round, a summary of your accumulated earnings and patient benefits will be flashed on the screen. The total experimental dollars you earn at the end of the game will be converted using the exchange rate above (10 experimental dollars = 1 US dollar) and will be handed out to you in an envelope as you leave the room. The total patient benefits will be converted to US dollars as well (using the same conversion rate) and will be donated to an organization that cares for actual patients.

If you have no more questions, we will begin with 5 practice rounds, then proceed to the actual experiment.