Response Game
Background
The Response Game is a socio-economic game about the allocation of monetary resources to study prosocial behavior. It's a two-stage decision process involving two players. Player A gets to make the first choice: take a proposed split for both players or leave it. Player B, meanwhile, gets to decide - under the assumption that player A does NOT accept the first allocation proposal- between two alternative money allocation options. However, player B's allocation choice only comes to fruition if player A declines the first proposal.
The game can be played in two variants:
- Participant is player A and player B is a programmable computer persona
- Participant is player B and player A is a programmable computer persona
By varying the hypothetical proposed amounts and allocation splits, different scenarios involving prosocial behavior as well as retaliation behavior can be tested: For example, player A is given the choice to decide between a money split that would blatantly favor player B ($1000) over player A ($200) but then leaves player B the option to retaliate by denying player A any money at all if player A declines the offer. Or player A could be given an allocation split that blatantly favors player A ($600) over player B ($100) but would give player B the option to 'reward' player A by awarding an even higher amount to player A ($800) over player B ($500).
The Millisecond Response Game is based on the published design by Sean Brocklebank and colleagues from 2011 who combined the classic Dictator Game with 6 rounds of the Response Game.
Task Procedure
Instructions tell each participant that they play in a group of people and that they are anonymously paired with another person from the group for several game rounds, but that this co-player may not be same the person each time. Each participant is further told that players would be assigned one of two roles (Role A or Role B, the roles are never further explained) at the start of each round. In the default Response Game, participants play six games and each time they are assigned 'Role A'. As the Role A player, the participant is given the choice to take a proposed money split or leave it. When making the choice, the participant is aware of the choices that player B gets if the participant does NOT accept the first proposal.
What it Measures
The Response Game is a measure of prosocial behavior.
Psychological domains
- Motivation: The internal process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented behaviors
- Altruism: Thoughts and actions that help someone else even at a risk or cost to oneself
- Social Norms: The unwritten, informal rules that define what is considered acceptable within a specific group
Main Performance Metrics
- Number of In/Out choices: Number of times participant selected to take the first proposal (if player A) Note: with one exception, they are prosocial choices
- Number of Left/Right choices: Number of times participant selected to take prosocial behavior (if player B)
Psychiatric Conditions
The following patient groups tend to lower or higher prosocial behavior in Behavioral Decision games
- Schizophrenia
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Ventro-Medial Prefrontal Cortex (vmPFC) Damage
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Psychopathy
An implementation of the Response Game as described in Brocklebank et al (2011)
References
Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit Response Game.
Charness, G., & Rabin, M. (2002). Understanding social preferences with simple tests. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117, 817–869.
Brocklebank, S., Lewis, G.J, & Bates, T.C. (2011). Personality accounts for stable preferences and expectations across a range of simple games. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 881-886.