Date: 2007-10-16 3:30pm
Room: Wean 5409
Speaker: Michael Kearns (UPenn)
Title: Behavioral Games on Networks
Abstract: We have been conducting behavioral experiments in which human subjects attempt to solve challenging graph-theoretic optimization problems through only local interactions and incentives. The primary goal is to shed light on the relationships between network structure and the behavioral and computational difficulty of different problem types.
To date, we have conducted experiments in which subjects are incentivized to solve problems of graph coloring, consensus, independent set, and an exchange economy game. I will report on thought-provoking findings at both the collective and individual behavioral levels, and contrast them with theories from theoretical computer science, sociology, and economics.
This talk discusses joint work with Stephen Judd, Sid Suri, and Nick Montfort.
