Asymmetric payoffs in strategic games can be tested with chimps and humans

Evidence

In the game, individuals are paired with another of their species for several rounds of interaction. Each player is placed into the role of either the Matcher or the Mismatcher. In each round, participants must select either Left or Right. The Matcher gets a reward only when his choice (Left or Right) matches the choice of his opponent. By contrast, the Mismatcher gets a reward only when his choice mismatches his opponent. The rewards, however, need not be symmetric, as illustrated in figure 2.4 . In this asymmetric version, the Matcher gets 4 apple cubes (or cash for humans) when she successfully matches on Left, but only gets 1 cube when she matches on Right. Meanwhile, the Mismatcher gets only two cubes for any successful mismatches, no matter how they arise. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 96

Categorization

• QUESTION: This experimental design setup is background — but the reader may want to track whether the chapter follows it with a developmental question about conformist bias.
• XREF: connects to: Chimpanzees outperform humans at strategic randomization in competitive games — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 99

Broader Connections

• Chimpanzees outperform humans at strategic randomization in competitive games #exemplifies (0.78) — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 99