Jörg Öchssler, University of Heidelberg

"Imitation under stress and with many rounds"

Abstract

This presentation presents results from two experiments. The first concerns imitation under stress. The second concerns imitation in an experiment with many rounds. 1) Imitating the best strategy from the previous period has been shown to be an important heuristic, in particular in relatively complex environments. In this experiment we check whether subjects are more likely to use imitation if they are under stress. Subjects play a repeated Cournot oligopoly. Treatments are time pressure and distractions through a second task. We measure stress levels through salivary Cortisol measurements and through measuring the heart rate. First results indicate that subjects indeed imitate more if under stress. 2) We replicate a study by Friedman, Huck, Oprea, and Weidenholzer (2012) on imitation in the long-run (with 1200 rounds).

Contact person: Alexander Sebald