The Formation of Social Conventions in Real-Time Environments

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Economics
• Game Theory
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Social conventions are crucial for coordination but their formation is not fully understood.
• Understanding factors influencing convention stability is key to predicting social behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally investigate how interaction continuity and stakes affect convention formation in a coordination game.
• To analyze the dynamics of continuous interaction and signaling in establishing shared expectations.

Main Methods:

• An experiment using a game of impure coordination with two factors manipulated: interaction continuity (simultaneous vs. real-time) and stakes (high vs. low).
• Analysis of behavioral dynamics and coordination patterns under different experimental conditions.

Main Results:

• Continuous interaction led to greater efficiency and fairness compared to simultaneous decisions.
• Equilibria stability in real-time interaction significantly increased with higher stakes.
• Low stakes in real-time allowed for 'on the fly' coordination, while high stakes increased pressure for persistent shared expectations.

Conclusions:

• Interaction continuity and stakes jointly influence the formation and stability of social conventions.
• High stakes in real-time environments promote the establishment of robust, persistent shared expectations, a phenomenon termed social canalization.