Observational Learning and Intelligence
Skype: school.socialsciences
2 PM, room 3E, Department of Economics and Management
Speaker: Alexander Vostroknutov - Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of Trento
Abstract
We study experimentally how individuals learn from observing the choices of others in a non -stationary stochastic environment. The imitation choices of participants with low score in an intelligence test are driven solely by the value of imitation. High intelligence score participants, in addition, use choices of others to better understand the environment. They imitate more when other's choices are stable, which makes them more optimal than low score participants. The knowledge that the observed other has high intelligence score affects behavior of only low score participants. Overall, intelligence predicts the usage of simple or sophisticated observational learning strategy.
The paper is co-authored with Luca Polonio and Giorgio Coricelli