Strategies vs backward induction in dynamic decision-making: an experimental investigation

This paper reports the results of an experimental investigation into people’s evaluations of choice problems that are strategically equivalent, but differ in respect of their temporal framings. We elicit individual valuations for three strategically equivalent choice problems, which differ in terms of their framing and the timing of the decision. This allows us to begin to understand how people view dynamic decision problems and how they tackle them. This research is complementary to earlier experimental work of others, which suggests that the temporal frame of a dynamic decision problem may well influence the decisions that are taken. We show that the framing affects also some people’s evaluation of the problem. We combine these findings with the earlier findings to relate the two issues: the evaluations and the decisions. This helps us get some insight into the thought processes of dynamically inconsistent people.