Abstract

COLMENARES VAZQUEZ, Ligia  and  SANTOYO VELASCO, Carlos. Assessment of Consistency of Prosocial Behavior in Two Experimental Games. Rev. mex. anál. conducta [online]. 2012, vol.38, n.2, pp.69-86. ISSN 0185-4534.

The relation between behavior in a Repeated Dictators Game (RDG) and behavior in a Public Goods Game (PGG) was assessed. A computer simulation of a RDG was conducted with 53 college students, who were randomly assigned to low-cost or high-cost groups. Participants in the low cost group had a free endowment which they could split with an anonymous partner, and participants in the high cost group had to earn their endowment before they could split it. Donations were significantly higher for the participants in the high-cost group. Participants then played a PGG. A cluster analysis identified two strategies followed by the participants in each of the two games: In the RDG, 30 participants donated 14% of their endowment, while 23 participants donated 47% of their endowment. In the PGG, most participants invested 50% of their endowment at the beginning of the game, and their investment decreased in successive trials. The strategies that each participant followed were not consistent between the two games, but were consistent with those reported in previous studies. Behavior in games like PGG may be better described in terms of efficiency, maximization and conditional cooperation.

Keywords : experimental games; individual differences; cooperation.