Section 4.4 What Makes a Prisoner's Dilemma?
ΒΆIn this section we give a mathematical description of Prisoner's Dilemma and compare it to some similar games. The Class-wide Prisoner's Dilemma game we played in Section 4.3 has the payoff matrix given in Table 4.4.1 for each pair of players.Player 2 | |||
Cooperate | Defect | ||
Player 1 | Cooperate | (3,3) | (0,5) |
Defect | (5,0) | (1,1) |
Reward for Mutual Cooperation: R=3.
Punishment for Defecting: P=1.
Temptation to Defect: T=5.
Sucker's Payoff: S=0.
T>R>P>S
(T+S)/2<R
Exercise 4.4.2. Description of conditions.
Describe each of the conditions (A) and (B) in words.
\((T+S)/2\) is the average of \(T\) and \(S\text{.}\)
Exercise 4.4.3. The conditions for Classwide Prisoner's Dilemma.
Show that the two conditions hold for the Class-wide Prisoner's Dilemma.
Exercise 4.4.4. The conditions for Prisoner's Dilemma.
Recall the matrix for Prisoner's Dilemma from Example 4.2.7.
Prisoner 2 | |||
Confess | Don't Confess | ||
Prisoner 1 | Confess | \((8, 8)\) | \((0.25, 10)\) |
Don't Confess | \((10, 0.25)\) | \((1, 1)\) |
Determine \(R, P, T,\) and \(S\) for this game. Be careful: think about what cooperating versus defecting should mean. Show the conditions for Prisoner's Dilemma are satisfied.
Time in jail is bad, so the bigger the number, the worse you do; thus, it might be helpful to think of the payoffs as negatives.
Exercise 4.4.6. The conditions for Chicken.
Recall the matrix for Chicken from Example 4.2.16.
Driver 2 | |||
Swerve | Straight | ||
Driver 1 | Swerve | \((0, 0)\) | \((-1, 10)\) |
Straight | \((10, -1)\) | \((-100, -100)\) |
Determine \(R, P, T,\) and \(S\) for this game. Again, think about what cooperating and defecting mean in this game. Determine if the conditions for Prisoner's Dilemma are satisfied. If not, which condition(s) fail?
Exercise 4.4.8. The conditions on another game.
Consider the game:
Determine \(R, P, T,\) and \(S\) for this game. Determine if the conditions for Prisoner's Dilemma are satisfied. If not, which condition(s) fail?
Exercise 4.4.9. A little more practice.
Consider the game:
Determine \(R, P, T,\) and \(S\) for this game. Determine if the conditions for Prisoner's Dilemma are satisfied. If not, which condition(s) fail?
Exercise 4.4.10. Compare the games.
The games in Exercise 4.4.6, Exercise 4.4.8, and Exercise 4.4.9 are not true Prisoner's Dilemmas. For each game, how do the changes in payoffs affect how you play? In particular, in Prisoner's Dilemma, a player will generally choose to defect. This results in a non-optimal payoff for each player. Is this still true in Exercise 4.4.6, Exercise 4.4.8, and Exercise 4.4.9? If possible, use the changes in the conditions (A) and (B) to help explain any differences in how one should play.
Exercise 4.4.11. Example from real life.
Give an example of defection and cooperation from real life.