Emergence of cooperative societies in evolutionary games

TitleEmergence of cooperative societies in evolutionary games
Publication TypeConference Papers
Year of Publication2010
AuthorsCheng K-L, Zuckerman I, Kuter U, Nau DS
Date Published2010///
PublisherACM
Conference LocationNew York, NY, USA
ISBN Number978-1-4503-0073-5
Keywordsevolutionary game theory, social orientations
Abstract

We utilize evolutionary game theory to study the evolution of cooperative societies and the behaviors of individual agents (i.e., players) in it. We present a novel player model based upon empirical evidence from the social and behavioral sciences, stating that: (1) an individual's behavior may often be motivated not only by self-interest but also by the consequences for the others, and (2) individuals vary in their interpersonal social tendencies, which reflect stable personal orientations that influence their choices. Alongside the formal player model we provide an analysis that considers possible interactions between different types of individuals. We present series of evolutionary simulations that ratify previous findings on evolution of cooperation, and provide new insights on the evolutionary process of cooperative behavior in a society as well as on the emergence of cooperative societies. Our main experimental result demonstrate that in contrast to previous common knowledge, increasing the value of mutual Reward or increasing mutual Punishment in the Prisoner's dilemma game do not result in the same type of cooperative society: while increasing R does result in a more cooperative society, increasing P does not.

URLhttp://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1830761.1830805
DOI10.1145/1830761.1830805