Hawk-Dove Game Experiment
I examined research about the Hawk-Dove game theory and how this was tested in real life. In the experiment, the researchers also gave some participants the chance to converse with each other and some participants information about the game. Because there was a range of possible experimental conditions, the participants were divided into four different types. The researchers hypothesized that the type 1 participants, who both receive information about the game and can communicate with their opponents, would yield the highest scores out of all of the groups. This hypothesis correlates with the strategy that allowing the participants to communicate, in theory, lets them choose strategies that would result in Nash equilibriums, where the other player’s choice was a best result for both players. However, in this experiment, the players were allowed to lie and change their decision, at the cost of a point. Because the goal of the experiment was to have the most points, the researchers’ hypothesis assumed that the participants would opt for the agreed upon Nash equilibrium option and not try to deceive their opponent by switching their strategy, because this costed them a point. This is a more complicated version of the Hawk-dove game we saw in class because the players are allowed to communicate with their opponent, making players liable to persuasion and trickery.
The researcher’s hypothesis was incorrect because type 1 players lied and then switched to eagle, the more aggressive strategy, which meant that many players who did this resulted in negative scores. These players lost points for switching their decision and, since the majority would switch their agreed upon answer, most players lost more points because they both switched to the hawk strategy. Even though this experiment advances upon the basic Hawk-Dove game theory we observed in class, it still illustrates the same notion: Nash equilibrium happens in these situations when both choose the passive option. Yet, neither participant wants to choose the Nash equilibrium because they want the higher gain.
https://www.atlantis-press.com/article/125965875.pdf