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Game Theory and Human Behavior Seminar
Thu, Oct 27, 2011 @ 12:00 PM - 01:30 PM
Thomas Lord Department of Computer Science, Information Sciences Institute, Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
Conferences, Lectures, & Seminars
Speaker: Aldo Rustichini, Professor of Economics, University of Minnesota
Talk Title: Why Blame?
Abstract: We provide evidence that subjects in an experimental setup blame others for outcomes for which the others cannot be considered responsible. We then provide an explanation of this apparently irrational behavior on the basis of a principal agent model. In the experiment a subject acting as agent chooses between a lottery and a safe asset, paying a fixed amount. The payment of the chosen asset goes to a player, who observes the choice of the agent and the outcome, and can then decide how much of a fixed amount to allocate between the agent and an involved third party, who is one of the subjects in the experiment participating as an agent in another pairing. Since no fraction of the amount could be retained by the principal, he has no other monetary incentive to favor one or the other; hence a shift in the allocation of rewards is a reliable measure of the valence of the affective response of the principal to the agentâs choice and the outcome. Since the agent is clearly not responsible for the outcome of the lottery, an allocation norm that obeys a merit principle (``rewards and penalties depend on responsibilityââ) prescribes that payments depend on the choice of the safe or risky asset, but not on the outcome.
Biography: Aldo Rustichini is Professor of Economics at the University of Minnesota. He has an undergraduate degree in Philosophy (University of Florence, Italy) a Master in Economics (University of Manchester, UK) and a Ph.D in Mathematics (University of Minnesota). He is Fellow of the Econometric Society, and member of the Game Theory Council. He is associate Editor in several international Journals (Journal of Mathematical Economics, Games and Economic Behavior, PLOS One). He is coordinating and directing research groups in the USA, in UK (University of Cambridge) and Italy (Bocconi University). His research interests are in Game Theory, Decision Theory, Experimental Economics and Neuroeconomics.
Host: Milind Tambe
More Information: Why blame.pdf
Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248
Audiences: Everyone Is Invited
Contact: Eric Mankin
