The Strategy of Explanations

To better understand the strategic aspects of human decision-making, we conduct a power-to-take game in which takers are required to send messages explaining their actions to receivers. We vary the types and timing of information takers have available to them to investigate the effects of empathy and deceptive framing. We determine that takers who have more information tend to act and explain themselves more strategically. We also find that receivers prefer to interact with female takers even though all interactions are anonymous. These findings suggest there is value in explanations that is often overlooked in modern analyses of human decision-making.