scholarly journals Preferences and constraints: The value of economic games for studying human sociality

Author(s):  
Anne C Pisor ◽  
Matthew M Gervais ◽  
Benjamin G Purzycki ◽  
Cody T Ross

We argue that classic economic games and their more recent extensions should continue to play a role in fieldworkers’ methodological toolkits. Economic games are not replacements for observational and self-report studies of behavior, but rather complements to them: While observational and self-report data measure individuals’ behavior subject to the constraints of cultural institutions, competing demands on their resources, and even self-presentation bias, economic games can be designed to measure comparatively unconstrained individual preferences, or to selectively introduce constraints, providing insight into how individuals would behave under certain conditions if they had the opportunity. By using a combination of experiments, observation, and self-report, anthropologists, economists, and psychologists can continue to improve their understanding of how preferences translate into “real world” behavior, and how “real world” constraints influence preferences, across diverse human societies.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne C Pisor ◽  
Matthew M Gervais ◽  
Benjamin G Purzycki ◽  
Cody T Ross

As economic games have spread from experimental economics to other social sciences, so too have critiques of their usefulness for drawing inferences about the “real world.” What these criticisms often miss is that games can be used to reveal individuals’ private preferences in ways that observational and interview data cannot; further, economic games can be designed such that they do provide insights into real-world behavior. Here, we draw on our collective experience using economic games in field contexts to illustrate how researchers can strategically alter the framing or design of economic games to draw inferences about private-world or real-world preferences. A detailed case study from coastal Colombia provides an example of the subtleties of game design and how games can be combined fruitfully with self-report data. We close with a list of concrete recommendations for how to modify economic games to better match particular research questions and research contexts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 192090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne C. Pisor ◽  
Matthew M. Gervais ◽  
Benjamin G. Purzycki ◽  
Cody T. Ross

As economic games have spread from experimental economics to other social sciences, so too have critiques of their usefulness for drawing inferences about the ‘real world’. What these criticisms often miss is that games can be used to reveal individuals' private preferences in ways that observational and interview data cannot; furthermore, economic games can be designed such that they do provide insights into real-world behaviour. Here, we draw on our collective experience using economic games in field contexts to illustrate how researchers can strategically alter the framing or design of economic games to draw inferences about private-world or real-world preferences. A detailed case study from coastal Colombia provides an example of the subtleties of game design and how games can be combined fruitfully with self-report data. We close with a list of concrete recommendations for how to modify economic games to better match particular research questions and research contexts.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne C Pisor ◽  
Matthew M Gervais ◽  
Benjamin G Purzycki ◽  
Cody T Ross

As economic games have spread from experimental economics to other social sciences, so too have critiques of their usefulness for drawing inferences about the “real world.” What these criticisms often miss is that games can be used to reveal individuals’ private preferences in ways that observational and interview data cannot; further, economic games can be designed such that they do provide insights into real-world behavior. Here, we draw on our collective experience using economic games in field contexts to illustrate how researchers can strategically alter the framing or design of economic games to draw inferences about private-world or real-world preferences. A detailed case study from coastal Colombia provides an example of the subtleties of game design and how games can be combined fruitfully with self-report data. We close with a list of concrete recommendations for how to modify economic games to better match particular research questions and research contexts.


Author(s):  
Michael Auer ◽  
Mark D. Griffiths

AbstractDespite the popularity of horserace gambling around the world, there is surprisingly little in-depth research on the topic. Additionally, studies suggest that motives for gambling are an important proximal factor related to problematic gambling among young people and adults. The present study investigated reasons for gambling among Norwegian horse bettors utilizing questions based on the Reasons for Gambling Questionnaire. The Norwegian gambling operator Rikstoto tracks all players’ behavior across all game types on the internet as well as land-based gambling and provided the data for the study. Consequently, the responses to the questions were correlated with actual gambling behavior. The authors were given access to an anonymized dataset of 3627 players (934 females and 2693 males) from the Norwegian horse betting operator Rikstoto who all completed a short survey. The reasons for gambling most endorsed by horserace bettors were to win big prizes and for excitement. The least endorsed reasons for gambling were to impress other people and to decrease tension. Gambling for money and gambling for recreation and coping were the most highly correlated with self-reported problem gambling. Age was significant and negatively correlated with self-reported gambling problems. The number of bets made, the amount of money consciously bet (i.e., players choosing the horse(s) compared to letting a random generator choose), as well as the monthly loss limit were significant and positively correlated. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is the first to investigate (i) motivations to gamble combining self-report data with data from a real-world setting, (ii) horserace betting with actual player data, and (iii) correlations between self-reported information about gambling problems with actual gambling behavior and self-reported motivation to play. Consequently, the findings are of high existential value to the gambling studies field.


2018 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 738-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie S. Martin ◽  
Shannon Womer Phaneuf

This study explores the relationship between jail visitation with children and levels of parental stress among a sample of jailed fathers. Quantitative analyses of the self-report data reveal that jailed fathers experienced stress related to parenthood regardless of whether they had visits from their family. However, the type of stress varied, with fathers who had family visits reporting stress directly related to the visitation, while fathers who did not have visits noted more generalized parental stress. The findings provide insight into the type and quality of incarcerated fathers’ contact with their children and factors that influence the number of visits they receive. The negative impact of the lack of contact visits is also discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 158-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Montag ◽  
Konrad Błaszkiewicz ◽  
Bernd Lachmann ◽  
Ionut Andone ◽  
Rayna Sariyska ◽  
...  

In the present study we link self-report-data on personality to behavior recorded on the mobile phone. This new approach from Psychoinformatics collects data from humans in everyday life. It demonstrates the fruitful collaboration between psychology and computer science, combining Big Data with psychological variables. Given the large number of variables, which can be tracked on a smartphone, the present study focuses on the traditional features of mobile phones – namely incoming and outgoing calls and SMS. We observed N = 49 participants with respect to the telephone/SMS usage via our custom developed mobile phone app for 5 weeks. Extraversion was positively associated with nearly all related telephone call variables. In particular, Extraverts directly reach out to their social network via voice calls.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 290-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuulia M. Ortner ◽  
Isabella Vormittag

With reference to EJPA’s unique and broad scope, the current study analyzed the characteristics of the authors as well as the topics and research aims of the 69 empirical articles published in the years 2009–2010. Results revealed that more than one third of the articles were written by authors affiliated with more than one country. With reference to their research aims, an almost comparable number of articles (1) presented a new measure, (2) dealt with adaptations of measures, or (3) dealt with further research on existing measures. Analyses also revealed that most articles did not address any particular field of application. The second largest group was comprised of articles related to the clinical field, followed by the health-related field of application. The majority of all articles put their focus on investigating questionnaires or rating scales, and only a small number of articles investigated procedures classified as tests or properties of interviews. As to further characteristics of the method(s) used, a majority of EJPA contributions addressed self-report data. Results are discussed with reference to publication demands as well as the current and future challenges and demands of psychological assessment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Buaphrao Raphiphatthana ◽  
Paul Jose ◽  
Karen Salmon

Abstract. Grit, that is, perseverance and passion for long-term goals, is a novel construct that has gained attention in recent years ( Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007 ). To date, little research has been performed with the goal of identifying the antecedents of grit. Thus, in order to fill this gap in the literature, self-report data were collected to examine whether mindfulness, a mindset of being-in-the-present in a nonjudgmental way, plays a role in fostering grittiness. Three hundred and forty-three undergraduate students completed an online survey once in a cross-sectional study, and of these, 74 students completed the survey again 4.5 months later. Although the cross-sectional analyses identified a number of positive associations between mindfulness and grit, the longitudinal analysis revealed that the mindfulness facets of acting with awareness and non-judging were the most important positive predictors of grit 4.5 months later. This set of findings offers implications for future grit interventions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 410-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony M. Gibson ◽  
Nathan A. Bowling

Abstract. The current paper reports the results of two randomized experiments designed to test the effects of questionnaire length on careless responding (CR). Both experiments also examined whether the presence of a behavioral consequence (i.e., a reward or a punishment) designed to encourage careful responding buffers the effects of questionnaire length on CR. Collectively, our two studies found (a) some support for the main effect of questionnaire length, (b) consistent support for the main effect of the consequence manipulations, and (c) very limited support for the buffering effect of the consequence manipulations. Because the advancement of many subfields of psychology rests on the availability of high-quality self-report data, further research should examine the causes and prevention of CR.


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