Collective rationality in interactive decisions: evidence for team reasoning. 2008

Andrew M Colman, and Briony D Pulford, and Jo Rose
School of Psychology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK. amc@le.ac.uk

Decision theory and game theory rest on a fundamental assumption that players seek to maximize their individual utilities, but in some interactive decisions it seems intuitively reasonable to aim to maximize the utility of the group of players as a whole. Such team reasoning requires collective preferences and a distinctive mode of reasoning from preferences to decisions. Findings from two experiments provide evidence for collective preferences and team reasoning. In lifelike vignettes (Experiment 1) and abstract games (Experiment 2) with certain structural properties, most players preferred team-reasoning strategies to strategies supporting unique Nash equilibria, although individually rational players should choose equilibrium strategies. These findings suggest that team reasoning predicts strategy choices more powerfully than orthodox game theory in some games.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D003299 Cooperative Behavior The interaction of two or more persons or organizations directed toward a common goal which is mutually beneficial. An act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit, i.e., joint action. (From Random House Dictionary Unabridged, 2d ed) Compliant Behavior,Behavior, Compliant,Behavior, Cooperative,Compliant Behaviors,Cooperative Behaviors
D003657 Decision Making The process of making a selective intellectual judgment when presented with several complex alternatives consisting of several variables, and usually defining a course of action or an idea. Credit Assignment,Assignment, Credit,Assignments, Credit,Credit Assignments
D005260 Female Females
D005716 Game Theory Theoretical construct used in applied mathematics to analyze certain situations in which there is an interplay between parties that may have similar, opposed, or mixed interests. In a typical game, decision-making "players," who each have their own goals, try to gain advantage over the other parties by anticipating each other's decisions; the game is finally resolved as a consequence of the players' decisions. Game Theories,Theories, Game,Theory, Game
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults

Related Publications

Andrew M Colman, and Briony D Pulford, and Jo Rose
January 2017, Review of philosophy and psychology,
Andrew M Colman, and Briony D Pulford, and Jo Rose
August 2009, Current biology : CB,
Andrew M Colman, and Briony D Pulford, and Jo Rose
February 2023, Neural computation,
Andrew M Colman, and Briony D Pulford, and Jo Rose
January 1993, Cognition,
Andrew M Colman, and Briony D Pulford, and Jo Rose
April 2011, Cambridge quarterly of healthcare ethics : CQ : the international journal of healthcare ethics committees,
Andrew M Colman, and Briony D Pulford, and Jo Rose
October 2000, The Behavioral and brain sciences,
Andrew M Colman, and Briony D Pulford, and Jo Rose
February 2020, Studies in history and philosophy of science,
Andrew M Colman, and Briony D Pulford, and Jo Rose
October 2021, Nonlinear dynamics, psychology, and life sciences,
Andrew M Colman, and Briony D Pulford, and Jo Rose
January 2006, Occupational therapy in health care,
Andrew M Colman, and Briony D Pulford, and Jo Rose
September 2003, Health information and libraries journal,
Copied contents to your clipboard!