motivation Flashcards
1
Q
Game Theory
A
- Game theory has provided a useful framework for understanding some of these aspects of human motivation
- Game theory tries to predict what strategies people will follow to pursue rational decisions that are in their own best interests
- Humans can reason according to their knowledge of the minds of others
- Thus humans are not merely ‘rational’ but make rational decisions within a context of social interaction and understanding
2
Q
Game Theory: Example
A
Imagine you are walking through the door at the matrix and you meet a group of people coming the other way
There is only space for one person to pass
You have three choices: move left, move right, or keep going straight on (which obviously risks a collision)
But the people coming the other way have the same choices and if they move left and you move right, you will also collide
Note that the outcome of the ‘game’ depends on the actions of both parties, whose interests are identical
You both want to keep moving and avoid a collision
3
Q
The Prisoner’s Dilemma
A
- A famous metaphor used to study cooperation
- The game was framed in this way by Albert Tucker - Imagine that two gang members (S and R) have been arrested, are in custody, and are being held apart from each other
- With no means of communication
- The prosecutors do not have enough evidence to convict the men on the main charge, so they offer each them a deal - In the deal, each prisoner has the choice between betraying his partner by testifying against him or cooperating with his partner and keeping silent
- This is the deal:
If S and R each betray the other, they will each serve two years in jail
If S betrays R (but R remains silent), S will be freed, but R will serve three years in jail (and vice versa)
If both S and R remain silent, they will both serve one year in jail (on a lesser charge
4
Q
The Prisoner’s Dilemma
A
- The dilemma assumes that there will be no future consequences to each prisoner for their betrayal
- e.g. Damage to their reputation - The most rational choice is to betray the partner
- Because that maximises the individuals benefits in their absence of knowledge of what the other will do
- In this instance, betrayal is better than cooperation
5
Q
The Prisoner’s Dilemma
A
- In practice, humans seem to make more cooperative choices than pure ‘rationality’ would predict
- In this specific instance, betrayal of a fellow gang member may have very real, negative consequences for the betrayer
- Given that, the choice of silence may be a better option, even if it potentially costs the prisoner more prison time
- If his partner betrays them
6
Q
iterated prisoner’s dilemma
A
- The prisoner’s dilemma has been further studied to see if one can set up conditions to promote cooperation
- In these studies, there are several rounds of the game
- Known as the iterated prisoner’s dilemma
- This allows for reciprocal altruism to come into play
- Thus, across repeated rounds, the player may fear a future negative outcome as retaliation for betrayal or defection in the current round
- In this instance, cooperation in the current round may be more beneficial in the longer term
- As reciprocal altruism predicts
7
Q
‘tit-for-tat’
A
One of the most successful strategies is ‘tit-for-tat’
- In this strategy, the player cooperates in the first round and then repeats what the opponent does in each successive round
- The success of this strategy is attributed to the fact that:
- [Player 1] never defects first
- Retaliates when the opponent defects
- Forgives when the opponent reverts to cooperation
8
Q
Win-Stay; Lose-Shift
A
- Players who adopt this strategy tend to maintain cooperation
- However, in a ‘noisy world’, the strategy tends to work less well, leading to low-playing retaliation
- In this case, it is better to implement a simple rule: Win-Stay; Lose-Shift
- That means that:
If your move has a positive outcome, it should be repeated
- If it has a negative outcome, you should shift to the opposite behaviour
