SPIN RESULT // FILE 00
Prisoner’s Dilemma
“Two people gain by cooperating, but each gets an immediate advantage by defecting. What would you choose without talking?”
PANEL A // CORE
The essential idea
It is an incentive structure in which individually dominant choices can produce a worse outcome for both parties. Repetition, reputation, communication, and institutions can change the prospects for cooperation.
PANEL B // SEQUENCE
How it works
- 01
Each player compares cooperation and defection without controlling the other choice.
- 02
Defection protects against exploitation and offers an immediate individual gain.
- 03
If both follow that incentive, they end up worse than under mutual cooperation.
PANEL C // CASE
Concrete case
Two firms could cut pollution and benefit society; if each fears bearing the cost alone, both may defect and worsen the environment.
PANEL D // LIMIT
It does not mean this
It does not prove that humans are inevitably selfish or that cooperation is always irrational.
RHO // FIELD NOTE
Take it with you
Changing the game often beats demanding heroism: create reputation, repetition, communication, or verifiable guarantees.
FINAL PANEL // APPLY
Transfer test
Before answering: how confident are you?