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Simultaneous but independent ultimatum game: strategic elasticity or social motive dependency?

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  • Philipp E. Otto

    (European University Viadrina)

  • Daniel Dittmer

    (European University Viadrina)

Abstract

Ultimata bargaining experimentally investigates the responder behavior for multiple proposers, that is, the responder’s decision to accept or reject an offer conditional on another parallel offer. Responders’ strategies combine the two formally independent but parallel games as if inducing competition among proposers by more frequently rejecting an offer when it is the lower one of the two offers received simultaneously. Furthermore, proposers’ public offers strongly correlate, due to adapting over repetitions to the parallel offer or because of only slightly outbidding the other proposer’s offer if known before their own announcement. Social preferences of inequity aversion or of pure altruism for income distributions resulting from simultaneous ultimata cannot explain a positive dependency of own offers on other parallel offers, and joint responsibility is proposed as a reference-dependent social motive.

Suggested Citation

  • Philipp E. Otto & Daniel Dittmer, 2019. "Simultaneous but independent ultimatum game: strategic elasticity or social motive dependency?," International Journal of Game Theory, Springer;Game Theory Society, vol. 48(1), pages 61-80, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jogath:v:48:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s00182-018-0646-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s00182-018-0646-6
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Multiple ultimatum game; Context dependency; Responder rejection rate; Joint responsibility; Comparative dependency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C78 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Bargaining Theory; Matching Theory
    • C90 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - General
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior

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