Part 1 Instructions - Page 1 of 7

  • Experiment
    This is an experiment in 2 parts.

  • Rounds
    This part of the experiment consists of 10 rounds.

  • Introduction
    In each round, you will have to decide whether or not to buy a commodity. The price of the commodity is the same for everyone taking part in the experiment, whereas its value to each person is different.

  • Price
    The price of the commodity (for everyone) is £2.40 throughout this part of the experiment.

  • Value
    The value of the commodity to you in a given round is determined by two things: its maximum value to you and the number of people other than you that buy it.

  • Maximum Value
    The maximum value of the commodity to you is chosen randomly at the start of each round, with all values in the range £0.00 to £10.00 being equally likely. This maximum value is private to you and it is not shown to anyone else. Similarly, you cannot see the others' maximum values, which are different to yours.

  • Actual Value
    The actual value of the commodity to you is equal to its maximum value multiplied by the proportion of people other than you that buy it. So the actual value is always lower than the maximum value unless everyone else buys the commodity. The actual value is zero if no one else buys the commodity.