“Neoclassical economic game theory assumes that players solely consider their own payoffs when making decisions; however, experimental research continually suggests that people do not behave this way in reality. In one of the simplest decision settings, the ultimatum game, players routinely deviate from the subgame perfect equilibrium prediction; in fact, players frequently reject positive offers even if the alternative is zero payoff (Camerer 2011). While deviations from maximizing a player’s own payoffs may appear to suggest that said player behaves irrationally, these deviations are routinely replicated. Consequently, research suggests that self-interest is not the only factor at play.”

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