Prisoners’ Dilemma – Game Theory
A game is basically a structured form of activity, normally undertaken for fun or entertainment, and at times also used as an educational resource. Games are very different from work, which tends to be carried out primarily for monetary remuneration, and unlike art, which is almost always an expression of personal or aesthetic themes. Nevertheless, all these things are also true of games, whether they are being played as entertainment, educational or just as recreation. Games are generally categorized according to the systems on which they are played, which may include the obvious rules of the board and party board games.
The object of any game is to achieve a set goal by using the resources available to you only efficiently. These resources are generally called ‘capital’, which can be in the form of money, food, or other non-living objects. There are two systems that describe how to use these resources to reach a specific equilibrium. These are known as the game theory of equilibrium, and the game theory of non-cooperation.
In a prisoner’s dilemma, the player assumes the role of both prisoner and guard. The objective of the game is to prevent one of the players from getting to the maximum number of cards, while allowing the other player to stay exactly where he is. The prisoner is always innocent, while the guard always replies with some kind of answer that prevents him from answering yes to all questions. It is possible for either player to get to the maximum number of cards; however, this requires that they both stick to their own set of rules, with neither player deviating from them.
The most common and the most well-known game theory are the dictator game. In this game, the player takes the role of the dictator, and the objective is to make the other players submit to your rule or to get out of the game. To do this, you must persuade other players to cooperate with you. In this game theory, there is a strong element of the emotion that is transferred into the decision-making process, so it can be considered an emotional decision making tool. For example, if a guard tells his fellow guards that he wants to obey the leader, then other guards will likely follow suit.
The prisoner’s dilemma also includes a variant known as the centipede game theory. In this case, the object of the game is for one player to get to the prison by allocating specific points to every prisoner that he manages to save. However, this is also a form of cheating, since most players don’t know that the prisoners are not really all equal. Thus, a cheating technique is to assign more points to certain prisoners that serve to confuse the outcome of the game.
Most games have evolved over the years, with more complex approaches and more subtle trends. Prisoners’ dilemmas are just one of these. However, the prisoner’s dilemma offers some insights into how people tend to behave in certain circumstances. In addition, understanding this can help managers and leaders to evaluate the performance of their subordinates. Indeed, the key to success is understanding human behavior and applying it to solve various problems.
