Social Learning and Coordination in High-Stakes Games: Evidence from Friend or Foe

43 Pages Posted: 30 Jun 2003 Last revised: 17 Oct 2022

See all articles by Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Harvard Business School, Strategy Unit

Joel Waldfogel

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Carlson School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Department of Economics

Matthew W. White

University of Pennsylvania - Business & Public Policy Department; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: June 2003

Abstract

We analyze the behavior of game-show contestants who play a one-shot game called Friend or Foe. While it is a weakly dominant strategy not to cooperate, almost half the contestants on the show choose to play friend.' Remarkably, the behavior of contestants remains unchanged even when stakes are very high, ranging from $200 to more than $10,000. We conclude that the frequent cooperation observed in one-shot social dilemma games is not an artefact of the low stakes typically used in laboratory experiments. Strategic decisions on Friend or Foe change markedly if players can observe previous episodes. We show that these contestants play friend' if they have reason to expect their opponent to play friend,' and they play foe' otherwise. The observed decisions are consistent with recent fairness theories that characterize individuals as conditional cooperators. Using information about past play, some groups (e.g., pairs of women) manage to stabilize cooperation in this high-stakes environment. For most others, improved coordination implies a drastic decline in monetary winnings. Prior to playing the social dilemma game, contestants produce' their endowment by answering trivia questions. We find some evidence for reciprocal behavior: Players who produce fewer correct answers for their team are more likely to cooperate in the social dilemma game.

Suggested Citation

Oberholzer-Gee, Felix and Waldfogel, Joel and White, Matthew Wallace, Social Learning and Coordination in High-Stakes Games: Evidence from Friend or Foe (June 2003). NBER Working Paper No. w9805, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=420319

Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Harvard Business School, Strategy Unit ( email )

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Joel Waldfogel (Contact Author)

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Carlson School of Management ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Department of Economics ( email )

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Matthew Wallace White

University of Pennsylvania - Business & Public Policy Department ( email )

The Wharton School
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Philadelphia, PA 19104-6372
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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