Information choice in a social learning experiment

We document heterogeneity of rationality and bias in information acquisition in a social learning experiment, where subjects, prior to guessing an unknown binary state of the world, must choose between receiving a private signal or seeing social information containing the guesses made by previous subjects in the sequence - rather than observing both pieces of information as in the classic design of Anderson and Holt (1997). By requiring subjects to make this information choice at different points in the sequence, our within-subject design allows us to separate biased from optimal information choices. Overall, the majority of subjects exhibit a suboptimal bias in favor of choosing social rather than private information, consistent with underestimating both mistakes made by other subjects and the frequency of uninformative social information. Furthermore, a substantial minority behave according to a refined equilibrium prediction, while some subjects consistently choose social information and others consistently choose private information

Trusting and learning from others: immediate and long-term effects of learning from observation and advice

Social learning underpins our species's extraordinary success. Learning through observation has been investigated in several species, but learning from advice—where information is intentionally broadcast—is less understood. We used a pre-registered, online experiment (n = 1492) combined with computational modelling to examine learning through observation and advice. Participants were more likely to immediately follow advice than to copy an observed choice, but this was dependent upon trust in the adviser: highly paranoid participants were less likely to follow advice in the short term. Reinforcement learning modelling revealed two distinct patterns regarding the long-term effects of social information: some individuals relied fully on social information, whereas others reverted to trial-and-error learning. This variation may affect the prevalence and fidelity of socially transmitted information. Our results highlight the privileged status of advice relative to observation and how the assimilation of intentionally broadcast information is affected by trust in others

Pengaruh Strategi Pembelajaran Aktif Index Card Match Terhadap Hasil Belajar IPS Kelas V SD

The purpose 0f this research to obtain information on the influence of active learning strategies index card match the learning outcomes of Social Sciences student public elementary school class V 03 Pontianak City. This study uses a kind of experiment Experiment Method quasi experimental design Non Equivalent Control Group Design. The population in this study were all students of Class V consists of three classes. The sample was grader VB (control class) and VC (experimental class), each of which amounted to 37 people. Instruments such as multiple choice test with 30 questions and 10 questions form match. Data collection techniques using measurement techniques. The results of hypothesis testing using t-test obtained t> t table (2.27> 1.6684), from the calculation of the effect size (ES), obtained ES 0.52. Thus, it can be concluded that there are significant active learning strategy index card match the learning outcomes of Social Sciences at Elementary School fifth grade students

Guilt and Antisocial Conformism: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh

This study conducted a lab-in-the-field experiment in rural Bangladesh to disentangle motives for conformity in antisocial behavior. In a take-away game, the previous participants’ choice is revealed before a decision is made. Conformism is measured by the correlation between the information and own choice. This design allows conformism via learning about social norms, changing social preference, and changing the belief about the opponent’s expected amount of take-away. To disentangle the effect of belief, the participants in the treatment group are also informed about the opponent’s expected amount to be taken away. The results show conformism only in the control group, suggesting the channel through the belief. These results are consistent with the broken windows theory and also support the relevance of belief-dependent social preference in decision making

EXPRESS: Instrumental learning in social interactions: trait learning from faces and voices

Recent research suggests that reinforcement learning may underlie trait formation in social interactions with faces (Hackel, Doll, & Amodio, 2015; Hackel, Mende-Siedlecki, & Amodio, 2020). The current study investigated whether the same learning mechanisms could be engaged for trait learning from voices. On each trial of a training phase, participants (N = 192) chose from pairs of human or slot machine targets that varied in the 1) reward value and 2) generosity of their payouts. Targets were either auditory (voices or tones; Experiment 1) or visual (faces or icons; Experiment 2), and were presented sequentially before payout feedback. A test phase measured participant choice behaviour, and a post-test recorded their target preference ratings. For auditory targets, we found no effect of reward or generosity on target choices, but saw higher preference ratings for generous humans and slot machines. For visual targets, participants learned about both generosity and reward, but generosity was prioritised in the human condition. These findings demonstrate that (1) reinforcement learning of trait information with visual stimuli remains intact even when sequential presentation introduces a delay in feedback and (2) learning about traits and reward in such paradigms is weakened when auditory stimuli are used

Networks, Information and Economic Volatility

This thesis makes a contribution to network theory and how it applies to economics. It consists of three self-contained papers. It predominantly considers how connections between economic entities can affect economic outcomes. In particular, the first two papers examine social learning, in the one case by applying it to portfolio choice, and in the other by conducting an experiment to determine how people incorporate information from others into their beliefs to achieve economic outcomes. The final paper looks at how sectoral shocks can be transmitted through the economy through the connections between industries.The first paper, \textit{Social learning and financial markets: Can informed neighbors make up for a lack of financial acumen?}, allows financially- informed and uninformed agents to consult with each other on different social networks and examines what the benefits are to the two different groups of agents on the different networks in terms of financial investment.The second paper, \textit{Incorporating information into beliefs on networks: An experiment}, studies how agents incorporate into their beliefs information they receive from other agents. In particular, it considers whether agents use the DeGroot model or a Bayesian approach. Further, it considers how the density of network connections affects the results of consultation.The third paper, \textit{Sectoral shocks and aggregate volatility}, explores how sectoral shocks can propagate through the economy through the input-output networks. It devises a demand-side measure of industry influence and shows that such a demand-side measure is needed to fully understand the influence of industries with a case study of the Australian mining industry

Social learning in nest-building birds watching live-streaming video demonstrators

Determining the role that social learning plays in construction behaviors, such as nest building or tool manufacture, could be improved if more experimental control could be gained over the exact public information that is provided by the demonstrator, to the observing individual. Using video playback allows the experimenter to choose what information is provided but will only be useful in determining the role of social learning if observers attend to, and learn from, videos in a manner that is similar to live demonstration. The goal of the current experiment was to test whether live‐streamed video presentations of nest building by zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata would lead observers to copy the material choice demonstrated to them. Here, males that had not previously built a nest were given an initial preference test between materials of 2 colors. Those observers then watched live‐stream footage of a familiar demonstrator building a nest with material of the color that the observer did not prefer. After this experience, observers were given the chance to build a nest with materials of the 2 colors. Although two‐thirds of the observer males preferred material of the demonstrated color after viewing the demonstrator build a nest with material of that color more than they had previously, their preference for the demonstrated material was not as strong as that of observers that had viewed live demonstrator builders in a previous experiment. Our results suggest researchers should proceed with caution before using video demonstration in tests of social learning.PostprintPeer reviewe

Understanding mechanisms underlying peer effects: evidence from a field experiment on financial decisions

Using a high‐stakes field experiment conducted with a financial brokerage, we implement a novel design to separately identify two channels of social influence in financial decisions, both widely studied theoretically. When someone purchases an asset, his peers may also want to purchase it, both because they learn from his choice (“social learning”) and because his possession of the asset directly affects others' utility of owning the same asset (“social utility”). We randomize whether one member of a peer pair who chose to purchase an asset has that choice implemented, thus randomizing his ability to possess the asset. Then, we randomize whether the second member of the pair: (i) receives no information about the first member, or (ii) is informed of the first member's desire to purchase the asset and the result of the randomization that determined possession. This allows us to estimate the effects of learning plus possession, and learning alone, relative to a (no information) control group. We find that both social learning and social utility channels have statistically and economically significant effects on investment decisions. Evidence from a follow‐up survey reveals that social learning effects are greatest when the first (second) investor is financially sophisticated (financially unsophisticated); investors report updating their beliefs about asset quality after learning about their peer's revealed preference; and, they report motivations consistent with “keeping up with the Joneses” when learning about their peer's possession of the asset. These results can help shed light on the mechanisms underlying herding behavior in financial markets and peer effects in consumption and investment decisions