Week 1

Question 1

what is strategy?

Answer 1

the mental skill needed to do well in a game

Question 2

what is game theory?

Answer 2

the analysis of interactive decision-making and the science of rational behavior in interactive situations

Question 3

what is game of chicken?

Answer 3

two people drive cars toward each other and the first to swerve is the chicken

Question 4

what is war of attrition?

Answer 4

each person in the game waits out the other

Question 5

what is a signal?

Answer 5

strategy that conveys good information about you

Question 6

what is a screening device?

Answer 6

strategy used to induce others to act in a way that credibly reveals their private info

Question 7

what does an interaction need to be a strategic game?

Answer 7

there needs to be a mutual awareness of the cross effect of actions

Question 8

what is cross effect of actions?

Answer 8

what one player does must affect the outcome of the player

Question 9

how does an interaction between 2+ participants become strategic?

Answer 9

• mutual commitments

- private information

Question 10

describe a mutual commitment?

Answer 10

• individual is chosen from a larger pool of individuals, and the agreement is clear and known by both parties
• strategy comes in when you must influence the other player’s actions

Question 11

describe a zero-sum game?

Answer 11

only one winner and one loser – occurs when the players’ ints are in conflict

Question 12

what is a constant sum game?

Answer 12

there is some positive amount that the players are in conflict over

Question 13

what happens in one-shot games?

Answer 13

• no repercussions on other games
• no repercussions with other players who could learn about your typical actions
• players don’t know each others strengths/weaknesses

Question 14

what happens in repeated games?

Answer 14

• opportunity to build reputations

- get to know your opponent better

Question 15

what is strategic uncertainty?

Answer 15

uncertainty about what kind of moves one’s opponent has made in the past / is currently making

Question 16

what is a game of perfect info?

Answer 16

no ext/strategic uncertainty

Question 17

what is asymmetric info?

Answer 17

if one player knows more than other

Question 18

what is a cooperative game?

Answer 18

games in which joint-action agreements are enforceable

Question 19

what is a non-cooperative game?

Answer 19

games in which enforcement is not possible and individual participants are allowed to act in their own interests

Question 20

what is a strategy in a game?

Answer 20

their complete plan of action that tells them what to do in every action the opponent takes.

Question 21

what is pure strategy?

Answer 21

a strategy that always selects an action w certainty

Question 22

what is the payoff?

Answer 22

number associated with each possible outcome

Question 23

what is rationality?

Answer 23

implies that each player has a complete knowledge of their own ints and how to achieve it

Question 24

what is equilibrium?

Answer 24

when each player is using the strategy that is the best response to the strategies of other players. at this point, no player wishes to switch to an alt strategy.

Question 25

what is an evolutionary approach?

Answer 25

a dynamic process in which strategies that worked well in the past are likely to be used again

Question 26

how do simultaneous move games occur?

Answer 26

• players move with no knowledge of what their opponent has chosen to do
• players choose at the same time in isolation

Question 27

what are the payoffs in a zero sum game?

Answer 27

the payoff one player is the opposite of the other

Question 28

does NE require one’s choices to be strictly better than one’s other choices?

Answer 28

no

Question 29

how does one respond to decisions that are unknown and cannot be observed?

Answer 29

they can:

• guess
• use experience / observation
• logical reasoning

Question 30

what is the NE definition?

Answer 30

a set of strategies, one for each player, such that each has correct beliefs about the strategies of others and the strategy of each is the best for themselves, given their beliefs