Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
The effects of pre-play communication in a battle-of-the-sexes game with incomplete information regarding players’ intensity of preferences is compared to the game with no communication. Pre-play communication significantly increases payoffs and the probability of coordination, while reducing miscoordination. Communication is largely informative. A key prediction of the theory, that when two players send different messages, they coordinate on the preferred action of the agent sending the higher message, is generally satisfied. As predicted, communication becomes more informative as the cost of miscoordination increases.