Prisoner’s Dilemma

A game in which each player individually prefers defection, while both prefer mutual cooperation to mutual defection.

A prisoner’s dilemma is a specific payoff structure: each player prefers defection regardless of the other’s choice, yet both prefer mutual cooperation to mutual defection. A common ranking is temptation T > mutual cooperation R > mutual defection P > the cooperator’s payoff S when the other defects.

The dilemma is therefore more precise than general mistrust or conflict. If a person would prefer cooperation when the other cooperates, the game may instead resemble a stag hunt. Repetition, enforcement, or changed incentives can support cooperation under additional conditions, but talking or playing again does not automatically solve the problem. Payoffs must include what the players actually value, not merely the money displayed in a story.

When to use it

Useful when individually attractive choices produce a worse shared outcome under the relevant payoff ranking.

How it can help

Check the conditional incentives before choosing a mechanism intended to support cooperation.