Testing the Minimax Hypothesis: A Re-examination of O'Neill's Game Experiment

James N Brown and Robert Rosenthal

Econometrica, 1990, vol. 58, issue 5, 1065-81

Abstract: In this paper, the authors reexamine the data from B. O'Neill's (1987) experiment involving a repeated, two-person, constant-sum game. They find that there is less evidence in support of the minimax hypothesis than indicated by O'Neill. There is strong evidence of serial correlation in players' choices, with several players displaying statistically significant dependence on the past moves of their opponents. The authors interpret this finding as evidence that the plays themselves rejected minimax play as the appropriate model for their opponents' behavior. They find no evidence that players' behavior approached minimax behavior as players became more experienced. Copyright 1990 by The Econometric Society.

Date: 1990
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