HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION?
Axelrod – The Evolution of Cooperation (chapter 7)
INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATION & STRATEGY:
THEORY&PRACTICE
Professor: Jasper Kim
Student: Mujinga-Tshibanda
(IES09231)
Ewha Woman’s University
Introduction - Overview
HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION?
ENLARGE THE SHADOW OF
THE FUTURE °
DURABILITY
FREQUENCE
CHANGE THE PAYOFFS
TEACH SKILLS,VALUES AND
FACTS THAT WILL
PROMOTE COOPERATION
RECIPROCITY
RECOGNTION
ABILITIES
Axelrod - The Evolution of cooperation - Chapter 7: HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION?
Enlarge the shadow of the future
Illustration: The prisoner’s dilemma(1)
 Situation I :
 Payoffs:
Cooperate ( c)
C
II
Non-Cooparate (N-C)
3;3
0;5
I
N-C



5;0
If you alternate
cooperation&defection
you’ll get the best
outcome…
1;1
Shadow of the future is not so great
Uncertainity of the existence of a future interaction
Given benefit today is preffered to waiting for the same benefit tomorrow
HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION
ENLARGE THE SHADOW OF THE FUTURE
DURABILITY
FREQUENCE
CHANGE THE PAY OFF
TEACHING SKILLS , VALUES & FACTS
RECIPROCITY
RECOGNITION
Illustration: The prisoner’s dilemma(2)
 Situation II :
 Payoffs:
II
C
C
N-C
3;3
0;5
5;0
1;1
I
N-C

If you always cooperate you’ll win
Shadow of the future is great
HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION
ENLARGE THE SHADOW OF THE FUTURE
DURABILITY
FREQUENCE
CHANGE THE PAY OFF
TEACHING SKILLS , VALUES & FACTS
RECIPROCITY
RECOGNITION
What do we learn?
 Situation I:


As the shadow of the future become smaller, it stops paying to be cooperative with another
player even if the other player will reciprocate your cooperation…
If it does pay for you to cooperate, it doesn’t pay for the other player to cooperate either…
 Situation II:

Cooperation is the best way to get the best outcome
 Why?

Possibility to use an implicit threat of retailiation against the other ‘s defection if the interaction
will last long enough to make the threat effective

No form of cooperation is stable when the future is not important enough relative to the present
To encourage cooperation ?
ENLARGE THE SHADOW OF THE FUTURE
ENLARGESHADOW
THE SHADOW
THE FUTURE
OF OF
THE
FUTURE
DURABILITY
DURABILITY
FREQUENCE
HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION
PROMOTING
COOPERATION
TEACHING SKILLS
, VALUES & FACTS
CHANGE THE PAY OFF
TEACHI
OFF
RECIPROCITYNG
RECOGNITION
Enlarge the shadow of the future...How?

Making the interactions more DURABLE
OR

Making the interactions more FREQUENT:
Exple: to keep the players from the others…
ENLARGESHADOW
THE SHADOW
OF THE FUTURE
OF THE
FUTURE
DURABILITY
HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION
PROMOTING
COOPERATION
TEACHING SKILLS
, VALUES & FACTS
CHANGE THE PAY OFF
TEACHI
OFF
RECIPROCITYNG
RECOGNITION
Axelrod - The Evolution of cooperation - Chapter 7: HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION?
Change the payoffs
WHY?
Change the effective payoffs
The choice of defection becomes less attractive
Illustration: The primary fonction of the government
Notice: Not necessary to make large changes in the payoff structure to promote
cooperation°
ENLARGE
THE SHADOW
OF THE FUTURE
SHADOW
OF THE
FUTURE
DURABILITY
HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION
PROMOTING
COOPERATION
TEACHING SKILLS
, VALUES & FACTS
CHANGE THE PAY OFF
TEACHI
OFF
RECIPROCITYNG
RECOGNITION
Axelrod - The Evolution of cooperation - Chapter 7: HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION?
Teach skills, values & facts that will
promote cooperation
From altruism to reciprocity…
 In a society: Teaching people to care about the welfare of each
other = excellent way to promote cooperation
ALTRUISM (utility positively affected by the welfare of the
others) make the choice easier…
 BUT… imagine a society with 90% of altruists and 10%
selfish…PROBLEM! °
The cost of altruism can be controlled by using RECIPROCITY°
as a basis for cooperation
ENLARGE THE SHADOW OF THE FUTURE
HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION ?
PROMOTING
TEACHING SKILLS? VALUES & FACTS
COOPERATION
CHANGE THE PAY OFF
OFF
RECIPROCITY
RECOGNITION
Morality or Reciprocity?
 Moral standard golden rule:
« Do unto others as you would have them do unto you »
 Since cooperation is what you want from the other player, you should always cooperate? NO°…
 Reciprocity is much better  it’s good for both players:




Exploitative strategies will be hard to survive
Reward for mutual cooperation
A moral person can’t do much better…
Tit for tat strategy° express the reciprocity…but still
trouble°
 90% of tit for that is a better strategy°
ENLARGE THE SHADOW OF THE FUTURE
HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION ?
PROMOTING
TEACHING SKILLS? VALUES & FACTS
COOPERATION
CHANGE THE PAY OFF
OFF
RrRr
RECIPROCITY
RECONGITION
Improve Recognition Abilities

Recognize the player from the past interactions
 Remember the relevant futures of those
interactions
Sustain cooperation (by the use of reciprocity )
And allow to encourage the other player to cooperate
ENLARGE THE SHADOW OF THE FUTURE
HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION ?
PROMOTING
TEACHING SKILLS? VALUES & FACTS
COOPERATION
CHANGE THE PAY OFF
OFF
RECIPROCITY
RECONGITION
Summary
 Factors allows to promote cooperation:

Enlarge the shadow of the future (Durability or frequence)

Change the payoffs (not necessary to change the tension
between the short term incentive to defect and the long term
incentive to cooperate)

Applying the reciprocity principle
Personnal opinion
I agree with this theory, but is it as easy
as it seems? Lets try a game…
GAME : FALCON or DOVE?
 Two countries want to exploit a territory with natural
ressources. Each one can either choose to act like a falcon
or like a dove:



If both countries choose to act like a dove, they’ll share the territory;
If one of the two acts like a falcon, the other nation give up the
territory to the « falcon » nation;
If both countries act like a falcon, the war will be on and will have
bad consequences on people;
 What would you do (as a country) if you know that you
can try to conquer the territory every 5 years for a
period of 40 years (countries will have to wait 50 years
to be able to exploit the territory again)?
Axelrod - The Evolution of cooperation - Chapter 7: HOW TO PROMOTE COOPERATION?
Thank you!
Any questions?