WP313_BG_exp1_2021

Abstract

A data set comprising 1397 distinct examples. We collected this data in an incentivized field study that we conducted at a large German university over three years (2016-2019) with first-semester economics students. Most important for the experiment at hand, the field study included an incentivized one-shot prisoners’ dilemma where we anonymously matched participants in pairs of two and initially endowed each one with 10 monetary units (MU). Participants could either keep the 10 MU for themselves or transfer them to their opponent. Whenever one player transferred her 10 MU, we doubled the amount so that the other player received 20 MU. Players made their choices sequentially. The second moving player received information about the first mover’s choice before deciding upon the transfer herself. For each subject, we elicited both conditional choices in the role of the second mover and the unconditional choice as a first mover. In addition to the incentivized game, the field study included a broad set of survey items on students’ demographics, including socio-economic background, cognitive abilities, personal traits, and other preferences.