Experimental & Behavioural Economics Seminar - David Cooper (Florida State University)

Title: Learning and Contagion in Teams

Abstract: We study the effect of re-matching teammates on learning in a game.  Optimal play requires an insight that is hard to learn, but is easily explained. Individuals learn optimal play slowly, and fixed, two-person teams perform no better.  Re-matching subjects into new teams immediately results in a large, persistent increase in optimal play.  “Mixed” teams, where only one member was previously in a team that played optimally, drive this effect.  Our results suggest that the existing literature underestimates the potential for superior performance of teams given its focus on the unrealistic case where team membership never changes.