Rock-Paper-Scissors Science
RPS Science at the Ontario Science Centre
Playing Rock-Paper-Scissors to settle who’s doing the dishes? The science so far suggests you may want to do it with your eyes closed!
An Ontario Science Centre host shares the first round of results from our month-long Rock-Paper-Scissors Science experiment involving Science Centre visitors, our Facebook friends and Twitter followers.
To learn more about the University College London study we based our experiment on, listen to the RedShift Report podcast.
Participate in the Study
Want to participate? Fill out the form below to include your data in our research!
Play Rock-Paper-Scissors under two conditions:
- One person blindfolded
- Both people blindfolded
Record the number of ties versus decisions (wins or losses) under each condition.
We recommend a minimum of five games under each condition
Results So Far
As of Monday, May 21, 2012, 207 visitors have contributed to our study at the Science Centre and online.
About the Experiment
What's happening?
The statistics say that Rock-Paper-Scissors matches should produce a tie 33% of the time. But in a regular game of Rock Paper Scissors, where you can see your opponent, the number of ties is significantly higher than 33%. How come? Could the players be subconsciously copying one another’s choices?
Scientists wanted to find out. So they tried combinations in which one or both of the players were blindfolded to see if it made a difference. That’s what we did, too. First, we blindfolded just one player (so that the other player could still see and potentially copy) and recorded the number of wins (decisions) vs. the number of ties (draws). Then we repeated the experiment with both players blindfolded.
Based on a month of gathering experimental data here at the Science Centre, the
average number of draws was 36% when both players were blindfolded but
rose to 40% when one person was blindfolded. Our findings follow a trend similar to that of the scientific study,
supporting their observation that Rock-Paper-Scissors players unconsciously copy
one another.
But the more data we collect, the more evidence we have. So, try the experiment for yourself and submit your data! Check out the pie charts to see your results in real-time.
Learn More
Want to learn more? Here's the original University College London scientific paper on which our experiment was based and media coverage of the original study from BBC News and Science Daily.
References
Cook, R., Bird, G., Lünser, G., Huck, S., Heyes,C. (2011). Automatic imitation in a strategic context: players of rock–paper–scissors imitate opponents' gestures. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences, in press. Epub ahead of print retrieved August 8, 2011, from http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2011/07/12/rspb.2011.1024
Palmer, J. (2011, July 20). Rock-paper-scissors gamers ‘mimic each other’. BBC News. Retrieved August 8, 2011, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14199110
University College London (2011, July 20). Rock-paper-scissors players are natural copycats. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 8, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110720085818.htm