*3.2. Cognitive Load*

Before directed to the guessing game, subjects were required to memorize a string of letters and were told that they need to recall the given string after the guessing game. The string was composed of either three or seven random letters, for example, UMH or WIEZOFH. The subjects were given 15 s to memorize the string; then they were automatically directed to the guessing game.

I did not pay the subjects specifically for correct recalls. However, their payments on the guessing game were partially dependent on this memorization task. If the recall for the selected payment round was wrong, they were not paid for that round, and left the experiment with only the participation fee. Said payment scheme incentivized the subjects to memorize the cognitive load correctly, and therefore guaranteed the effects of different cognitive load treatments.


**Table 1.** The eighteen two-person guessing games.
