Many people formulate a strategy for the game rock, paper, scissors, which they believe is sure to beat the competition.
玩“石頭、剪刀、布”的時候,許多人都有一套自己的策略,他們相信那就是自己制勝的訣竅。
But a new study reveals players actually don't stick to a plan, rather they become irrational when making their next move - including using the same item that was once a winner.
Researchers suggest that if you want to be victorious, choose paper because most people tend to go for rock.
研究表明,如果你想在游戲中取得勝利,那就要出“布”,因為大多數人都傾向于出“石頭”。
WHAT DID THE STUDY FIND?
“石頭、剪刀、布”里的奧秘
Even if participants had a set plan for their next move, their emotions would make the act irrational.
即使玩家已經打算好下一個要出什么手勢,情緒也會導致他們的最終決定不理智。
Each of the three items carries equal status, which means the only rational method is to use each one an equal number of times – any other approach is irrational, said researchers.
The study revealed that participants followed a 'win-stay, lose-shift' strategy in how they played the game, which means when they won a round they kept repeating their winning item.
'Rock, paper, scissors (RPS) is a game where predictions of human rational decision-making can be compared with actual performance,' reads the study published in the journal Scientific Reports.
'Playing a computerized opponent adopting a mixed-strategy equilibrium, participants revealed a non-significant tendency to over-select rock.'
“計算機玩家采取了平衡策略,即出每種手勢的概率相等,但真實玩家卻略微表現出更愛出‘石頭’的傾向。”
'It's worrying that people tended to make more irrational decisions following a loss,' said Dr. Ben Dyson, lecturer in Psychology at the University of Sussex.
'This could have more serious implications in higher-stake scenarios where people are competing to out maneuver one another – in economics or politics, for example.'