A surprise-quiz view of learning in economic experiments

We use experimental data to investigate what subjects have learned after pa rticipating in an economic experiment for many periods. At the end of our e xperiments subjects are given another experiment to perform which functions like a surprise quiz since they had not been informed about its existence before. The: results of this surprise-quiz round, along with the time-serie s of their responses before the quiz, allow us to judge what they have lear ned. We find that depending on the manner in which subjects are paid, they attempt to learn different aspects of the experimental task and perform dif ferently. (C) 1999 Academic Press.