Cooperation-"Why do some players do better than others? Are they using a particular method or strategy?"

I'm doing panto over Christmas and in the interval today I decided to get some advise on teaching qualifications from one of the dancers. I was asking her what qualification she has that enables her to feel confident enough but also proves that she is a capable of teaching at a high standard. It took a while to get the conversation rolling as we were both aware that we do teach in similar areas, however when we realised that we both had different ways of teaching and the way we advertise ourselves it became very interesting. The conversation could of been
strategic from her side, and during the conversation I was making choices and calculated what she was saying. Analyzing the conversation cooperation was apparent from the both of us, so I feel we have both aided each other and given the confidence to aim higher in our work.

Sometimes I can be selfish at giving information away for the simple fact that there isn't much work out there and if i felt somebody treading on my toes then yes I would keep quiet. Most of the time I enjoy helping others as I no how hard it is, but I wouldn't keep providing information to a friend who didn't reciprocate.

Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that is used in the social sciences, most notably in economics, as well as in biology (particularly evolutionary biology and ecology), engineering, political science, international relations, computer science, social psychology, and philosophy. Game theory attempts to mathematically capture behavior in strategic situations, or games, in which an individuals success in making choices depends on the choices of others (Myerson, 1991). After doing some research on the notion of cooperation and analyzing Axrolds (1984) TIT of TAT theory I understand why someone would want to succeed at another person's expense however I believe working as one can be more effective. Researching Robert Axelrod's (1984) theory I have identified that working together with friends in the business and networking with them on a regular basis can develop benefits.

I did play the prisoner's dilemma game involving the principle of tit-for-tat cooperation consisting in interacting in a cooperative mode with a partner as long as he/she does the same.I learnt that imitating another person's moves you are not learning from your own experiences so it is hard to process information. I also fundamentally feel human cooperation and trust works best for me in my professional networking community.

I found a really helpful website which includes the prisoner's dilemma game. The result's of the game are below-

There have been 11001 cooperators (1109 got 2 years and 9892 got 10 years in jail) and 10223 defectors (978 got 0 years and 9245 got 8 years in jail).

References


Prisoner's dilemma game- http://bio150.chass.utoronto.ca/pdgame/- Accessed 15/12/10

Myerson, 1991- The Networked Professional Reader 2010/11-http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/data/files4/133682/The%20Networked%20Professional%20Reader.pdf-Accessed 15/12/10

Robert Axelrod's (1984)-The Networked Professional Reader 2010/11- http://libguides.mdx.ac.uk/data/files4/133682/The%20Networked%20Professional%20Reader.pdf-Acessed 15/12/10