Does Observation Influence Learning?

Olivier Armantier

Department of Economics Working Papers from Stony Brook University, Department of Economics

Abstract: A common value auction experiment is run to compare the relative influence of observation and experience on learning. It is shown that the ex-post observation of opponents' actions and payoffs homogenizes behavior and accelerates learning toward the Nash equilibrium. Besides, experiential and observational learning are both relevant and of comparable magnitude. A general reinforcement model for continuous strategies, encompassing choice reinforcement learning, direction learning and payoff dependent imitation, performs well in explaining the experimental data and it dominates competing models such as the reinforcement of best response strategies.

JEL-codes: C13 D91 D83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-gth
Date: 2001
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Journal Article: Does observation influence learning? (2004)
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nys:sunysb:01-04

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