C. Monica Capra, professor of economics, Claremont Graduate University, will present "The Neurobiology of Pre-play Communication in Simple Games."

Pre-play communication is cheap talk or talk that is non-binding and costless. Since words do not change subsequent payoffs, they should not affect behavior. Experimental evidence, however, suggests otherwise.

Capra was part of a research team that developed a simultaneous game with unilateral communication to analyze the types of cheap-talk messages that change the receivers' decisions. To identify the mechanisms whereby these messages affect behavior in games, the researchers used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to correlate them with an increase in activity in the brain's utility circuits. They found that pre-play communication affects behavior but not all communication is the same: meaning matters.

In addition, in different games, the same messages have differential effect on the brain, suggesting that the value of the message depends on the context under which it is processed.


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Location:	900 N. Glebe Road, 2nd Floor, Arlington, VA 22203
Sponsor:	Social and Decision Analytics Laboratory, Biocomplexity Institute at Virginia Tech
Contact:	Tracie Hase thase@vt.edu 571-858-3132
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