Neural decoding of competitive decision-making in Rock-Paper-Scissors

Area of Science:

• Social Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Game Theory

Background:

• Social neuroscience traditionally studies isolated brains, limiting understanding of real-time social interactions.
• Hyperscanning allows simultaneous neural recording from multiple interacting individuals.
• Research has primarily explored cooperative tasks, with limited investigation into competitive contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neural dynamics during competitive decision-making using hyperscanning.
• To examine behavioral and neural strategies in a competitive game context.
• To understand how previous outcomes influence competitive performance.

Main Methods:

• Electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning was employed.
• 62 participants (31 pairs) played a computerized Rock-Paper-Scissors game.
• Multivariate decoding analyzed neural representations of decisions and strategies.

Main Results:

• Participants displayed behavioral biases, deviating from optimal random strategies.
• Neural representations of decisions and strategies were identified within interacting players' brains.
• Losers uniquely encoded information from prior trials, potentially impairing performance.

Conclusions:

• Competitive decision-making is influenced by cognitive biases and past outcomes.
• Achieving true randomness in strategic interactions is challenging.
• This study enhances understanding of decision-making and cognitive dynamics in competition.