Research at Bond

Current Research Projects

Using Inductive Game Theory to understand and Combat Prejudice

The simple strategies of parlour games like chess and bridge could provide an explanation for the deep-seated beliefs that give rise to prejudice and discrimination.

Associate Professor of Economics, Dr Jeff Kline has focussed his research on Game Theory and its role in industrial organisation. An Australian Research Council (Australian Research Council) Discovery Grant of $78,000 will now enable him to extend his studies into the specific area of ‘Memory, Induction and Strategic Behaviour in Economic and Social Situations’.

“Essentially, Game Theory is a branch of applied mathematics that studies strategic situations where players choose different actions in an attempt to maximise their returns,” said Dr Kline.

“It was initially formalised by mathematician John von Neumann based on the strategies used in chess and card games where each player has a set of choices oravailable moves which they employ to achieve their clearly-defined objective of winning the game.

“Von Neumann’s analysis of these strategies has since been extended and applied to military strategies, business negotiations, political science, ethics, philosophy and, to a certain extent, even reality game shows like Survivor.”

Game Theory is now pervasive within economics and the social sciences but its fundamental premise is that, as in chess and cards, all of the players know the rules.

Dr Kline’s joint research project with Professor Mamoru Kaneko from Japan’s Tsukuba University will look at how Game Theory applies when the players do not know the rules.

“Our goal is to investigate how players react when the objectives are unclear, the strategies are unclear and the outcomes are unclear,” he said.

“This situation is quite common in business and political situations – for instance, when Virgin Blue entered the Australian airline market and introduced unexpected pricing strategies that Qantas was then forced to emulate.

“Our theory is that the players develop new strategies based on their beliefs about the game and from their memories of past plays. As such, each player’s subjective view will influence his behaviour. Because people use a limited set of experiences to generalise, we call the theory ‘Inductive Game Theory’.”

Drs Kline and Kaneko believe their findings will relate to negotiations and relationships in a much broader context.

“Ultimately, we hope to better understand the emergence and persistence of false beliefs, particularly those that involve prejudice and discrimination,” said Dr Kline.

“When people don’t have a lot of past experience with a particular cultural group, their perceptions are then based on arbitrary factors, such as the negative stories they may read in the newspapers.

“If they have more interaction, those perceptions are shown up to be false beliefs and their response should alter accordingly.”

Key Project Team Members

  • Associate Professor Jeff Kline - Bond University
  • Professor Mamoru Kaneko - Tsukuba University

Funding Sources

Contact:

Associate Professor Jeff Kline

Faculty of Business, Technology & Sustainable Development
BOND UNIVERSITY QLD 4229
AUSTRALIA

Phone: +61 7 5595 2048
Email: jekline@bond.edu.au