prisoner's dilemma ((in game theory)) Quick reference
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5 ed.)
...'s dilemma (in game theory) Any generalized situation which is essentially similar to the following: two prisoners are interviewed separately about a crime. If both deny the charge there is no evidence to convict them and both will be released. If one confessed and implicates the other, who denies it, then the first will be released and the other will be heavily punished. If both confess then both receive a lesser punishment than the prisoner in the case where one denied it and the other confessed. The ‘dilemma’ for the prisoner is that denying the...
Prisoner's Dilemma Quick reference
A Dictionary of Sociology (4 ed.)
...'s Dilemma A paradigmatic instance in game theory , taking its name from a story of two prisoners, who are interrogated separately and cannot communicate with each other. There is insufficient evidence for the police to convict either prisoner of armed robbery, so that unless they confess, each will receive a relatively light sentence of one year's imprisonment for illegal possession of firearms. The prosecuting authorities offer each prisoner a deal, whereby they may confess and turn state's witness against the other prisoner (putting him away for ten...
Prisoner's Dilemma Reference library
Dictionary of the Social Sciences
...'s Dilemma The best-known example from game theory , which illustrates how people behave in strategic situations. The Prisoner's Dilemma is based on some version of the following situation: two men have been arrested and are suspected of burglary. The police do not have evidence to convict them unless one or the other confesses to the crime; however, they do have enough evidence to convict them of a minor felony if neither confesses. This conviction carries a sentence of a year in prison. The two prisoners are not permitted to communicate and each is...
prisoner's dilemma Reference library
The Oxford Companion to Philosophy (2 ed.)
...'s dilemma . The prisoner's dilemma describes a possible situation in which prisoners are offered various deals and prospects of punishment. The options and outcomes are so constructed that it is rational for each person, when deciding in isolation, to pursue a course which each finds to be against his interest and therefore irrational. For example, if I am an employer and you a worker, it may be to my advantage not to pay you (rather than pay you) whether or not you do the work, and for you not to do the work (rather than do it) whether or not I pay you;...
Prisoner's Dilemma Games Reference library
Encyclopedia of Evolution
...the Prisoner's Dilemma in spatially segregated populations. Poundstone, W. Prisoner's Dilemma: Jon Von Neumann, Game Theory and the Puzzle of the Bomb . New York, 1992. An entertaining and historic overview of the use of the Prisoner's Dilemma game in many disciplines. Ridley, M. The Origins of Virtue . New York, 1996. A fine trade book on evolution and social behavior, with numerous sections devoted to the Prisoner's Dilemma. Sigmund, K. Games of Life . Oxford, 1993. A short book on the uses of game theory, with emphasis on the Prisoner's Dilemma....
Prisoner's Dilemma game n. Quick reference
A Dictionary of Psychology (4 ed.)
...than if they both choose D . The game was discovered in 1950 by the US mathematician Merrill M(eeks) Flood ( 1908–91 ) and the Polish-born US mathematician Melvin Dresher ( 1911–92 ). See also mixed-motive game , Newcomb's problem , N - person Prisoner's Dilemma , social dilemma , sure-thing principle , tit for tat strategy . PD or PDG abbrev...
N-person Prisoner’s Dilemma n. Quick reference
A Dictionary of Psychology (4 ed.)
...-person Prisoner’s Dilemma n . The first and most fundamental type of multi-person social dilemma , a generalization of the Prisoner’s Dilemma game to include more than two players, discovered simultaneously and independently in 1973 by the US psychologist Robyn Mason Dawes ( 1936–2010 ), the US mathematician Henry J. Hamburger (born 1940 ), and the US economist Thomas C. Schelling ( 1921–2016 ). It is an interactive decision involving three or more players who each face a choice between a cooperative strategy ( 2 ) labelled C and a...
prisoner's Dilemma
Prisoners’ Dilemma Quick reference
A Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics and International Relations (4 ed.)
...at an ‘evolutionarily stable’ pattern of conditional cooperation. Prisoners’ Dilemma models have been applied to almost every form of human and animal interaction. Well‐known examples from politics include arms races , incomes policy, trade bargaining, and pollution reduction. There are dangers of overuse: the situation needs to be specified carefully, and what appears to be a prisoners’ dilemma may not always be so. There have also been extensive experimental tests of Prisoners’ Dilemma in the laboratory. One of the best‐established results is that...
prisoners’ dilemma Quick reference
The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (3 ed.)
...in play, and cannot be said to be the single best strategy for all circumstances. See also assurance game ; chicken ; commons, tragedy of . http://www.univie.ac.at/virtuallabs/Introduction/pd.html An online tutorial on the prisoners’ dilemma http://www.gametheory.net/applets/prisoners.html Simulations of the prisoners’ ...
prisoners’ dilemma Quick reference
A Dictionary of Economics (5 ed.)
...prisoners’ dilemma A two-player game that illustrates the conflict between private and social incentives, and the gains that can be obtained from making binding commitments. The name originated from a situation of two prisoners who must each choose between the strategies ‘Confess’ and ‘Don’t confess’ without knowing what the other will choose. The important feature of the game is that a lighter penalty follows for a prisoner who confesses when the other does not. The game is summarized in the pay-off matrix where the negative pay-offs can be interpreted as...
N-person Prisoner's Dilemma
social dilemma
game
security dilemma
prisoner
