What to Do When Trapped in a Prisoners Dilemma?

What to Do When Trapped in a Prisoners’ Dilemma?

A prisoners’ dilemma game manifests whenever everyone individually would be better off being selfish, but collectively all would benefit from being nice. In a one-period prisoners’ dilemma, you should always be mean to your rival, for meanness maximizes your score. Indeed, businesses must recognize when they are in such a game so they don’t waste time trying to find a “win, win” outcome, for none exist in one-shot prisoners’ dilemma games. In repeated games with no last period, however, you should strive to cooperate to achieve a better outcome. To obtain this outcome you most need your rival to believe in your capacity to detect and punish cheating.