Social Dilemmas

What is a Social Dilemma

From the game: The Evolution of Trust

A social dilemma is a concept in social psychology and game theory that refers to a situation in which individuals or groups are confronted with a critical decision: to pursue their own self-interest or prioritize the greater good of the collective. In this post, we delve into common social dilemmas and possible solutions.

 

Two-Person Dilemmas

Two-person dilemmas represent the most basic form of social dilemmas, involving a binary choice between cooperation and defection. Let's examine some prominent examples of these two-player dilemmas.

 

Prisoner's Dilemma
Figure 1. Prisoner's Dilemma

In this example, there are two prisoners who are separately given the choice between testifying against the other or staying silent. If one prisoner testifies while the other stays silent, the former goes free while the latter faces a 30-year sentence, and vice versa. If both prisoners remain silent, they each serve 4 years. If both testify, they receive 9 years of imprisonment. Evidently, the rational choice, regardless of the other's decision, is to testify for the shortest sentence, even though collective silence would be the optimal choice.

 

 

Chicken Game
Figure 2. Chicken game

In this situation, two youths drive their cars towards each other, with the first to swerve labelled the "chicken" and the other demonstrating bravery. However, if neither of them turned away, they would crash, resulting in the worst possible outcome. If both players yield, it will result in a less unfavorable outcome as both opt out of the confrontation. In this example, one would prefer the other party to cooperate while they do not so that they could get the highest reward. Yet if the opposite side won't cooperate, the optimal strategy is to follow suit to avoid the worst-case scenario.

 

 

Assurance Game
Figure 3. Assurance game

In this context, two players are trying to prepare a project with a looming deadline. If they both work on the project, they will get a reward. However, even if one of them slack off, the project will miss the deadline, and they will get nothing. Although this game may seem that it doesn't represent a dilemma, if the other side won't cooperate, it becomes unwise to invest time in this project as our efforts would go to waste.

 

 

Multiple-Person Dilemmas

Multiple-person dilemmas are more intricate than the straightforward choices in two-person dilemmas. These situations necessitate more complex decisions involving motivational and strategic solutions, as individuals or groups navigate the dynamics of cooperation and self-interest within a larger group context. In the following sections, we'll explore the two broad types of social dilemmas and various solutions to align the group's benefit with the optimal outcome.

 

Public Goods Dilemmas

A public good is a resource everyone can benefit from, regardless of whether they have provided for the source. This specification causes a temptation to benefit from the good without contributing. Those people are called "free riders". While this is individually rational, if everyone does so, the public good will tail away, and everybody will be worse off. For example, public television is available to everyone whether or not they contribute any money. There are distinct production functions for different public goods.


A. Accelerating production function brings increasing returns as the contribution increases.

B. Decelerating production function causes the initial contributions to have the most significant effect, while additional contributions bring diminished returns.

C. Linear production function has the equal return for each unit of contribution.

D. Step-level production function returns nothing or very little at the initial contributions. Yet a tiny increase on the contribution that makes the input to pass the threshold would generate large and discontinuous amount of public good.

Figure 4. General types of production functions. (A) Accelerating. (B) Decelerating. (C) Linear. (D) Step, or discontinuous

Commons Dilemmas

Contrarily from public good dilemmas, commons dilemmas don't have a problem with the production function but with the carrying capacity of the commons. If the replenishment rate surpasses the renewal rate, the resource will exhaust. While it might be beneficial for one person to overuse the common, if majority of the group exploits a public resource, everyone would worse off. The problem of this dilemma resides in the substractibility of the benefits. Unlike in the public good dilemma example, the fish caught or the water consumed is no longer available to others.


Solutions For Social Dilemmas

There exists various solutions for those dilemmas that can be divided in to 3 sub-categories. Motivational solutions assume non-egoistic individuals, while strategical solutions operate on the premise of egoistic actors. On the other hand, structural solutions aim to alter the rules of the problem.

 

Motivational Solutions

Motivational solutions are about inspiring individuals or groups to cooperate for the greater good by will. These solutions often tap into intrinsic or extrinsic motivations, such as shared values, social norms, or personal rewards.

 

Strategical Solutions

Strategical solutions entail the development of plans and tactics to guide decisions within the group. These approaches seek to strike a balance between individual self interest and the overall well being of the collective.

 

Structural Solutions

Structural solutions address social dilemmas by making adjustments to the rules. These solutions aim to promote cooperation and minimize the temptation of defection. By modifying incentives, rules, or the environment, structural solutions create conditions that promote collaborative decision making, ultimately steering the group toward the outcome that aligns with the optimal benefit.

 
 

References:

  • Two-person dilemma images were drawn in canva.com

  • Production function image from: Robbins, B. G., Matsueda, R. L., & Pfaff, S. J. (2020). Mapping the Production and Mobilization Functions of Collective Action. Socius, 6, 2.

  • Kollock, P. (1998). Social Dilemmas: The Anatomy of Cooperation. Annual Review of Sociology, 24, 183–214.

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