Deviation from Nash mixed equilibrium in repeated rock–scissors–paper reflect individual traits

Current psychiatric nosology is based on observed and self-reported symptoms. Heterogenous pathophysiological mechanisms may underlie similar symptoms leading to diagnosis not matching up to the neurobiology. Recent research has sought to move away from diagnoses by symptoms, to viewing aberrant mental health in terms of abnormal human neurobehavioral functioning and concurrent deviations in the pathophysiology. Human behavior in a social context is a core neurobehavioral function with large individual variation that may reflect genomic, metabolic or neurobiological variation, whose identification potentially yields more accurate targeting for the development of interventions and biomedical treatments. In this research, we describe an experimental framework that utilizes a zero-sum game of repeated Rock–Paper–Scissors played against an artificial intelligence agent as an assay of social interaction. Human deviation from the Nash Mixed Equilibrium strategy of play, the only guaranteed way to avoid exploitation, can be seen in the sequential dependence of hands. We hypothesize that this deviation represents humans mimicing randomness to avoid exploitation through constant adjustments of behavior, which we analyze in terms of a set of switching heuristic lag-1 conditional response rules. We quantify and interpret the set of rules subjects are able to utilize as mirroring individual traits. Subjects in the study also completed the Autism Quotient Abridged survey, and subscores of the social, imagination and routine factors were found to be predicted by a combination of behavioral features derived from game play.