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The First Large-Scale Study of The Game

Scientists studied patterns in rock-paper-scissors games on a large scale and found that players' behavior typically follows a predictable pattern. If a player wins, they will usually stick with the same move, while if they lose they will usually switch moves in a clockwise direction (rock to paper to scissors to rock). Understanding this pattern allows players to optimize their strategy, such as switching moves after losing to increase their chances of winning future rounds. This reveals that human decision making in games may involve conditional responses to stimuli rather than completely random choices.

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CharlieHuang
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58 views

The First Large-Scale Study of The Game

Scientists studied patterns in rock-paper-scissors games on a large scale and found that players' behavior typically follows a predictable pattern. If a player wins, they will usually stick with the same move, while if they lose they will usually switch moves in a clockwise direction (rock to paper to scissors to rock). Understanding this pattern allows players to optimize their strategy, such as switching moves after losing to increase their chances of winning future rounds. This reveals that human decision making in games may involve conditional responses to stimuli rather than completely random choices.

Uploaded by

CharlieHuang
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Rock-paper-scissors is a schoolyard game/universal bar-tab-settler that theoretically relies on chance.

After all, each person


in the game plays one of three hands at random each time. Right?
Wrong! Scientists at Chinas Zhejiang University just released the results of the first large-scale study of the game and they
found that player behavior typically follows a predictable pattern. It goes something like this:
People start by picking each variable (rock, paper or scissors) about one-third of the time. You cant really game this stage.
BUT after the first round:

If a player wins, he will usually stick with the same play.

If a player loses, he will usually switch actions in a clockwise direction: rock changes to paper, paper to scissors,
scissors to rock.

This is simple, but a little hard to envision so lets try an example. Say I am playing three rounds of rock-paper-scissors
with my cubemate Emily.
Round 1: Emily plays paper, I play rock. She wins.
Round 2: Emily plays paper, I switch to paper. We draw.
Round 3: Emily plays scissors, I switch to scissors. Another draw! I lose.
But if I had kept the probabilities from this Zhejiang University study in mind, I could have changed my gameplay like so:
Round 1: Emily plays paper, I play rock. She wins.
Round 2: Emily plays paper, I switch to scissors. I win.
Round 3: Emily switches to scissors, I switch to rock. I win again!
You can thank game theory for your improved rock-paper-scissors game. Researchers previously believed the game operated
according to a game theory tenet called the Nash equilibrium basically, the idea that people will chose each of the three
options equally over time. But studied on a larger scale, it appears play follows a cyclical pattern which means sneaky
players can use conditional response, a reaction to a specific stimulus, in order to optimize their records.
That has fascinating implications not only for your next bet, but for human psychology.
Whether conditional response is a basic decision-making mechanism of the human brain or just a consequence of more
fundamental neural mechanisms is a challenging question for future studies, the Zhejiang researchers conclude.
Almost as challenging as losing a rock-paper-scissors game now amirite?

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