On Linear Congestion Games with Altruistic Social Context

We study the issues of existence and inefficiency of pure Nash equilibria in linear congestion games with altruistic social context, in the spirit of the model recently proposed by de Keijzer {\em et al.} \cite{DSAB13}. In such a framework, given a real matrix $\Gamma=(\gamma_{ij})$ specifying a particular social context, each player $i$ aims at optimizing a linear combination of the payoffs of all the players in the game, where, for each player $j$, the multiplicative coefficient is given by the value $\gamma_{ij}$. We give a broad characterization of the social contexts for which pure Nash equilibria are always guaranteed to exist and provide tight or almost tight bounds on their prices of anarchy and stability. In some of the considered cases, our achievements either improve or extend results previously known in the literature

Thinking in Chinese vs. Thinking in English: Social Preference and Risk Attitudes of Multicultural Minds

This paper investigates whether language priming activates different cultural identities and norms associated with the language communicated with respect to social preference and risk attitudes. Our contribution is on identifying the conditions where there will be language priming effects. We conduct economic games with bilingual subjects using Chinese and English as instructions. It is found that language priming affects social preference, but only in context involving strategic interactions. In social preference games involving strategic interactions, e.g., the trust game, subjects in the Chinese treatment are more trusting and trustworthy. In individual choice games, such as the dictator game, there is no treatment difference. Further, we also find that language priming affects risk attitudes. Subjects in the Chinese treatment prefer to pick Chinese lucky numbers in Mark Six lottery. These findings suggest that the effect of language priming is context dependent.language, bilingual, biculture, social preference, risk attitudes

Contribution of simulation and gaming to natural resource management issues: An introduction

Nowadays, computer-mediated simulations and games are widely used in the field of natural resource management (NRM). They have proved to be useful for various purposes such as supporting decisionmaking processes and training. First, the specificities of the NRM research field are highlighted. Then, based on the analysis of the articles presented in this special issue of Simulation & Gaming, some key features related to the implementation of gaming in such a context are introduced. Finally, after reviewing the benefits of using simulation games in NRM, the authors stress the ethical issue of changing social relationships among stakeholders by playing a game with some of themGESTION DE L'ENVIRONNEMENT;RESSOURCE NATURELLE;SIMULATION;SOCIOLOGIE;JEU DE ROLE;BENEFITS;CONTEXT;COLLECTIVE POLICY DESIGN;DECISION MAKING;ETHICAL ISSUES;IMPLEMENTATION;NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (NRM);SIMULATION GAMES;SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT;SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS;SOCIOECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS;STAKEHOLDERS

Tribal metaphors in social game design: creating conflict and camaraderie through context

This paper briefly explores the emergence of tribal patterns in social play. The formation of community groups is not just a result of game design, but a fundamental part of the social nature of the species. Tribal effects, such as favouritism towards fellow group members, have been studied by social psychologists for decades (e.g. [22,15,7]). We highlight some specific existing mechanics that enable and encourage this kind of behaviour in social games, and identify the importance of social feedback in generating tribal feelings. An experiment is described, that explores the minimal conditions of tribal behaviour player groups in social games. Specifically, it identifies the importance of feedback on social context in supporting the emergence of in-group favouring tribal play

serious games in a social context

This paper reports about a newly developed course on serious gaming, with as a special focus behavioral change in a social or societal context. The purpose of this paper is to share our insights and references so that educational institutes may find inspiration to develop courses in serious gaming along this line. In the paper, we provide references to theoretical backgrounds, an overview of the structure and ingredients of the course, as well as a description of a game design workshop, with civic order as it's main theme, based on a case study of an actual problem area in the city of Amsterdam. Keywords and phrases: serious games, education, game desig

Monotonicity of Social Optima With Respect to Participation Constraints.

In this paper we consider solutions which select from the core. For games with side payments with at least four players, it is well-known that no core-selection satifies monotonicity for all coalitions; for the particular class of core-selections found by maximizing a social welfare function over the core, we investigate whether such solutions are monotone for a given coalition. It is shown that if this is the case then the solution actually maximizes aggregate coalition payoff on the core. Furthermore, the social welfare function to be maximized exhibits larger marginal social welfare with respect to the payoff of any member of the coalition. The results may be used to show that there are no monotonic core selection rules of this type in the context of games without side payments.coalitional games; monotonicity; core; social welfare

Do People Care about Social Context? Framing Effects in Dictator Games

Many previous experiments document that behavior in multi-person settings responds to the name of the game and the labeling of strategies. Usually these studies cannot tell whether frames affect preferences or beliefs. In this Dictator game study, we investigate whether social framing effects are also present when only one of the subjects makes a decision, in which case the frame may only affect preferences. We find that behavior is insensitive to social framing.beliefs; preferences; framing effects; altruism; cooperation