Earlier this week in class we discussed Game Theory. At first it appears difficult to describe game theory without just showing an example. But a good description is "Game theory is the branch of decision theory concerned with interdependent decisions...game theory deals with any problem in which each player's strategy depends on what the other players do."
This strategy is often called the Prisoner's dilemma because it is a strategy used to encourage criminals to confess. But it has far-reaching applications with human behavior.
- Game Theory assumes that people act rationally.
- It assumes that people employ a dominant strategy- a strategy that works in your personal best interest.
- It requires that one player determine their strategy based on what choice they think the other player will make.
Some situations it can be used in:
- Friends choosing where to go to dinner
- Parents disciplining children
- Diplomats negotiating a treaty
- Competing businesses
- Gamblers in a card game
- Even in dating: If the guy is deciding between whether to ask a girl out or not, and her choices are to say yes or no, if this scenario is mapped out it suggests that girls will tend to accept a date verses rejection.
Yet the problem I see with game theory is that it does not allow for emotional choices or cultural values. If within a certain society loyalty is valued above freedom, then both prisoners will tend to stay silent instead of confessing. Can game theory overcome this error in the process, or does a different theory new to be employed for more emotional situations?
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