Part 1 Instructions - Page 1 of 4

  • Experiment

    This is an experiment in 3 parts.

  • Rounds

    This part of the experiment, part 1 of 3, consists of 10 rounds.

  • Introduction

    You are a small investor who has deposited £1 at the bank and your task in each round is to decide when to withdraw your money. You may decide to withdraw your money today or you may decide to wait until tomorrow. The bank may or may not have enough money to be able to pay you, depending on how many of the other investors decide to withdraw their money today. Provided it has enough money, the bank will pay you £1.00 if you withdraw today or £2.00 if you withdraw tomorrow.

  • Types of Investors

    There are 10 investors in your group, that is, you and 9 others, all of whom have £1 deposited at the bank. Of these 10 investors, 5 are of Type A and 5 are of Type B. Your type will be allocated to you at random and will change from round to round.

    If you are a Type A investor, it is worth £1.00 to you to receive £1.00 today, whereas it is worth £0.50 to you to receive £2.00 tomorrow.

    If you are a Type B investor, it is worth £1.00 to you to receive £1.00 today, whereas it is worth £2.00 to you to receive £2.00 tomorrow.

    Your TypeValue to you of receiving...
    £1.00 Today£2.00 Tomorrow
    Type A£1.00£0.50
    Type B£1.00£2.00

    You begin each round by oberving whether you are Type A or Type B. You then decide when to withdraw your money: today or tomorrow. All 10 investors decide simultaneously, so you do not see the other investors' decisions when making your decision (and vice versa). Once everyone has decided, the bank begins paying out money.