The impact of perceived similarity on tacit coordination: propensity for matching and aversion to decoupling choices.

ABSTRACT: Homophily, or "love for similar others," has been shown to play a fundamental role in the formation of interpersonal ties and social networks. Yet no study has investigated whether perceived similarities can affect tacit coordination. We had 68 participants attempt to maximize real monetary earnings by choosing between a safe but low paying option (that could be obtained with certainty) and a potentially higher paying but "risky" one, which depended on the choice of a matched counterpart. While making their choices participants were mutually informed of whether their counterparts similarly or dissimilarly identified with three person-descriptive words as themselves. We found that similarity increased the rate of "risky" choices only when the game required counterparts to match their choice

SUBMITTER: Chierchia G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4516978 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature