An experiment on Lowest Unique Integer Games

Takashi Yamada and Nobuyuki Hanaki

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2016, vol. 463, issue C, 88-102

Abstract: We experimentally study Lowest Unique Integer Games (LUIGs) to determine if and how subjects self-organize into different behavioral classes. In a LUIG, N(≥3) players submit a positive integer up to M and the player choosing the smallest number not chosen by anyone else wins. LUIGs are simplified versions of real systems such as Lowest/Highest Unique Bid Auctions that have been attracting attention from scholars, yet experimental studies are scarce. Furthermore, LUIGs offer insights into choice patterns that can shed light on the alleviation of congestion problems. Here, we consider four LUIGs with N={3,4} and M={3,4}. We find that (a) choices made by more than 1/3 of subjects were not significantly different from what a symmetric mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium (MSE) predicts; however, (b) subjects who behaved significantly differently from what the MSE predicts won the game more frequently. What distinguishes subjects was their tendencies to change their choices following losses.

Keywords: Lowest Unique Integer Game; Laboratory experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Related works:
Working Paper: An Experiment on Lowest Unique Integer Games (2016)
Working Paper: An Experiment on Lowest Unique Integer Games (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:463:y:2016:i:c:p:88-102

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2016.06.108

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