Abstract
A presumption in previous work has been that sub-optimality in competitive performance following loss is the result of a reduction in decision-making time (i.e., post-error speeding). The main goal of this paper is to test the relationship between decision-making speed and quality, with the hypothesis that slowing down decision-making should increase the likelihood of successful performance in cases where a model of opponent domination can be implemented. Across Experiments 1–3, the speed and quality of competitive decision-making was examined in a zero-sum game as a function of the nature of the opponent (unexploitable, exploiting, exploitable). Performance was also examined against the nature of a credit (or token) system used as a within-experimental manipulation (no credit, fixed credit, variable credit). To compliment reaction time variation as a function of outcome, both the fixed credit and variable credit conditions were designed to slow down decision-making, relative to a no credit condition where the game could be played in quick succession and without interruption. The data confirmed that (a) self-imposed reductions in processing time following losses (post-error speeding) were causal factors in determining poorer-quality behaviour, (b) the expression of lose-shift was less flexible than the expression of win-stay, and, (c) the use of a variable credit system may enhance the perceived control participants have against exploitable opponents. Future work should seek to disentangle temporal delay and response interruption as determinants of decision-making quality against numerous styles of opponency.
Highlights
A presumption in previous work has been that sub-optimality in competitive performance following loss is the result of a reduction in decision-making time
The proportion of Rock selection did not significantly vary as a function of no, variable and fixed credit conditions [F(2,70) = 1.54, MSE = 0.004, p = 0.222, ƞp2 = 0.042] nor did the proportion of Rock selection significantly differ from the expected value of 33.3% as assessed by a one-sampled t-test (e.g.26,49 Rapoport and Budescu, 1992; Hochman and Yechiam, 2011): t[35] = 1.79, p = 0.082
In other words, following wins, participants stayed with their original response approximately 1/3 of the time and changed to one of two new responses approximately 2/3 of the time. This was in contrast to performance following negative outcomes, which were characterized by increases in shift behaviour beyond that predicted by M S3,5
Summary
A presumption in previous work has been that sub-optimality in competitive performance following loss is the result of a reduction in decision-making time (i.e., post-error speeding). An assumed cause of the deterioration of decision-making following negative outcomes is a reduction in processing time allocated to actions following losses (e.g.4) This post-error speeding is manifest in competitive environments in which an opponent behaves in a random way, characteristic of many real-world devices such as fixed-odds betting terminals ( FOBTs7). The main goal of this paper is to test the relationship between decision-making speed and quality, with the hypothesis that slowing down decision-making following losses increases the likelihood of future successful performance in cases where a successful model of opponent domination can be implemented. In the context of competition any natural predictability in behaviour such as lose-shift runs the risk of exploitation
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