COORDINATION IN NONCOOPERATIVE 3-PERSON GAMES UNDER DIFFERENT INFORMATION STRUCTURES

Although game theory discusses focal point effects in pure coordinatio n games, it is largely silent with respect to the game properties that render an equilibrium salient. Schelling (1960), and subsequently Meh ta et al. (1994), started a program of developing a descriptive theory of focal points in pure coordination games by showing that strategy l abelling makes an equilibrium salient by deriving its significance fro m the common experience and beliefs of the players. We report three ex periments on noncooperative three-person coordination games in extensi ve form which show that, in addition to strategy labeling, players cho ose equilibria based on information about the temporal order of play, which is considered irrelevant by classical game theory.