A dilemma game is a way to understand the structure of the human psyche. What to choose: selfishness or overall benefit? Is it worth trusting or more profitable to betray?
The Prisoners Dilemma is an original game. The legend is this: two accomplices bandits were detained and placed in different places. They were not given the opportunity to communicate with each other. The prosecution knows that they have committed a number of crimes, but there is evidence for only one episode. Each prisoner is told that if he surrenders his partner, he will receive a significant mitigation of punishment.
The conditions are as follows:
- if he passes his partner alone, he receives 3 months in prison, and his accomplice - 10 years;
- if both surrender each other, they receive 5 years in prison;
- if both refuse to "knock" on accomplices, then each is serving a term of one year.
A dilemma is the complexity of a choice that confronts people who find themselves in such a situation. For each person individually, it’s more profitable to talk to an accomplice, because if the partner is silent, then the traitor will get off with only 3 months of imprisonment. If the accomplice also says his word, both will receive half the term. This is still better than keeping silent yourself, learning about betrayal and getting 10 years old.
On the other hand, trust and mutual “patronage” are better for the common benefit. Because in the event that one betrays the other, the total term for two is 10 years and 3 months. If both "knock", then 10 years. Asli partners do not surrender each other, together they will serve only two years. Here is a dilemma before them. This means that a person needs to make an informed and thoughtful decision.
If accomplices are confident in each other, it makes sense to be silent. But this is rather risky. After all, there is an opportunity to pay for your trust and get 10 years in prison.
It is especially interesting to conduct such a game in several stages. Moreover, it is important that the players do not know their number. Otherwise, at the penultimate stage, they a priori choose betrayal. Indeed, nothing further depends on this.
A dilemma game is a very fascinating sight. Moreover, in an artificially created situation, the solution looks more or less obvious. But in real life, not everyone would do the same. Therefore, the game often intentionally creates conditions under which mutual assistance as a concept ceases to exist. And cooperation becomes only a temporary profitable solution. But with such behavior, the greatest risk is associated.
With a repeated game, the prisoner's dilemma is this: not to give out a partner is more profitable. Therefore, gradually both players come to this. Several game strategies are possible:
- the desire for cooperation (regardless of the actions of the opponent);
- unwillingness to cooperate under any circumstances;
- to cooperate until the moment of betrayal, then always substitute (this strategy is the most popular, although it is disadvantageous for the system as a whole);
- mirror the previous moves of the opponent.
As you see, there are many options for the development of events. And even in cases where opponents were allowed to communicate and they agreed on joint actions, the outcome was not always predictable.
