Enhancing Cooperative Behavior through Subtle Communication Cues: The Impact of Hint Order and Hesitation in Hanabi

Abstract: In this study, the authors conducted Hanabi experiments under four conditions: three conditions in which humans played Hanabi using a UI that could present the order in which to give hints, as well as a UI that could indicate that a situation was troubling, in addition to the usual Hanabi game UI; and one condition in which an AI agent and a human played Hanabi. As a result, it was found that in conditions where the order of giving hints was made clear and humans could communicate their concerns, humans took less risky actions and improved their scores compared to the normal UI. This shows that the slight clues that have been overlooked in previous research were important for cooperative behavior. In addition, it was also found that the combination of agents and humans tended to show higher scores than the combination of humans.