Deal or no deal: comparing individual, group and couple choices in a risky context. Evidence from the Italian tv show edition

This work building on well-established economics literature on TV game shows aims, in an innovative manner, to provide further noteworthy insights. We compare individual, group and couple choices in the risky choice context provided by the Italian version of the international TV show “Deal or no Deal”. After analyzing contestant’s behaviour during the standard edition episodes plus two special editions we calculate a risk index showing that couples (affianced couples) display a greater degree of risk aversion while no statically significant difference is present between individuals’ and groups’ actions. This paper could be a starting point for future research investigating the rationale behind such conduct to examine whether such pattern would also be observed in a context different from that of TV game shows (e.g. financial decisions).