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When I cut, you choose method implies intransitivity

Author

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  • Makowski, Marcin
  • Piotrowski, Edward W.

Abstract

There is a common belief that humans and many animals follow transitive inference (choosing A over C on the basis of knowing that A is better than B and B is better than C). Transitivity seems to be the essence of rational choice. We present a theoretical model of a repeated game in which the players make a choice between three goods (e.g. food). The rules of the game refer to the simple procedure of fair division among two players, known as the “I cut, you choose” mechanism which has been widely discussed in the literature. In this game one of the players has to make intransitive choices in order to achieve the optimal result (for him/her and his/her co-player). The point is that an intransitive choice can be rational. Previously, an increase in the significance of intransitive strategies was achieved by referring to models of quantum games. We show that relevant intransitive strategies also appear in the classic description of decision algorithms.

Suggested Citation

  • Makowski, Marcin & Piotrowski, Edward W., 2014. "When I cut, you choose method implies intransitivity," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 415(C), pages 189-193.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:415:y:2014:i:c:p:189-193
    DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2014.05.074
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