Figure 1: Structure of the decision task.
In this study, you will participate in an interactive decision-making task involving two participants. The two roles are called Player A and Player B.
The task consists of multiple stages. Your payoff will depend on both participants’ actions.
Please read the instructions carefully. You will answer comprehension questions afterwards.
Figure 1 shows the structure of the game. The game is sequential: Player A moves first and Player B moves second. This will be explained below. In the game structure, Player A chooses between IN and OUT.
If Player A chooses IN and Player B chooses:
In the first round, before Player B makes their final decision, Player B will write a short message to Player A. These messages may contain any content, including statements about intentions, but they are not binding. Player A will view this message and is free to base their decision (In or OUT) on it or to ignore it. However, Player B is not allowed to reveal their identity (name, gender, or other identifying information).
In the experiment, every Player B is assigned to a Player A with whom they will play the game and to whom they address their message. However, after the message has been written, there may be a reassignment of the interacting players. This reassignment is called a switch.
Importantly, payoffs are always determined by the final matching after the possible switch. This means that the message Player A reads may not have been written by the Player B whose decision determines their payoff.
The probability of a switch is 50%. Player B is informed whether a switch occurred. Player A is not informed whether a switch occurred. Therefore, Player A cannot know whether the message they see was written by the person with whom they are ultimately matched. However, Player B does know whether Player A will read their own message or the message written by a different Player B when making their decision.
Please note that no real monetary payments will be made. All payoffs are expressed in experimental points. Nevertheless, please make your decisions as if these points were equivalent to real monetary earnings. Final points depend on both participants’ decisions in the game and will be determined according to the rules above, in addition to the bonus points that can be collected.
In this session, you are Player B. This means you will make the ROLL / DON’T ROLL decision, and you will write the message that will be shown to Player A. Player A will read your message and make the IN / OUT decision in a later session. You will be informed whether a switch occurred. Please make your decisions as if both participants’ payoffs will be paid exactly as described. Player A's decision will be collected in a later session, so you will not be able to see your final points at the end of the experiment yet.
You will now answer a few short comprehension questions.
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