Academic Integrity: tutoring, explanations, and feedback — we don’t complete graded work or submit on a student’s behalf.

Consider the game known as the Prisoner\'s Dilemma. What\'s the dilemma? By both

ID: 1157747 • Letter: C

Question

Consider the game known as the Prisoner's Dilemma.  What's the dilemma?

By both confessing, both get to the noncooperative solution and both serve significant time in prison.

As a group, they are better off cooperating by not confessing, but each player has an incentive to be first to confess in a double cross.

By both not confessing, both get to the cooperative solution and minimize time in prison.

The problem is that the spies should never have been caught; they should move to Rio.

a.

By both confessing, both get to the noncooperative solution and both serve significant time in prison.

b.

As a group, they are better off cooperating by not confessing, but each player has an incentive to be first to confess in a double cross.

c.

By both not confessing, both get to the cooperative solution and minimize time in prison.

d.

The problem is that the spies should never have been caught; they should move to Rio.

Explanation / Answer

The dilemma in the prison dilemma is that it is a unpleasant choice in which two prisoners make unideal choice while acting according to their own self interest.

It means dilemma when as a group, they are better off cooperating by not confessing, but each player has an incentive to be first to confess in a double cross.

This is because by trying to cheat to their counterpart, both take unideal choice and spent more time in prison.

Hence b is the correct answer.