Does Elicitation Method Matter? Behavioral and Neuroimaging Evidence from Capacity Allocation Game

Abstract

To date, it has not been elucidated whether the strategy method and the direct‐response method lead to different behaviors in experiments of economic games. In this study, we investigate this issue under a multi‐round setting of the capacity allocation game with both of the elicitation methods. In the first experiment (regular behavioral experiment), subjects are paired to make decisions in a laboratory through a computer network platform. In the second experiment (neuroimaging experiment), the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique is applied to observe similarities and differences in brain activities between the two elicitation methods. The results show that no significant difference is observed in the ordering behaviors between the two methods. Meanwhile, the neuroimaging data reveal that the strategy method induces comparable activations in similar brain regions, as does the direct‐response method. Additionally, it is more likely that subjects adjust their decisions during the feedback phase, rather than during the decision phase. Our results indicate that, in multi‐round game experiments without features such as emotion, the effect of the elicitation method is not likely to be exhibited.