An ESRC funded study published on Wednesday in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows that people subconsciously mimic each other’s hand shapes when playing rock-paper-scissors. Even though the players were incentivised by a prize, researchers found that they could not help copying their opponent and jeopardising their chance of winning.
The findings have received widespread coverage and you are able to read more at the following links:
UCL: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1107/20072011-rock-paper-scissors
BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14199110
E Science News: http://esciencenews.com/sources/scientific.blogging/2011/07/20/rock.paper.scissors.not.so.random.after.all