On the Study of Human Cooperation via Computer Simulation: Why Existing Computer Models Fail to Tell Us Much of Anything by Garrison W. GreenwoodEnglish | PDF(True) | 2019 | 96 Pages | ISBN : 1681736365, 1681736349 | 5.53 MB
Cooperation is pervasive throughout nature, but its origin remains an open question. For decades, social scientists, business leaders, and economists have struggled with an important question: why is cooperation so ubiquitous among unrelated humans? The answers would have profound effects because anything that promotes cooperation leads to more productive work environments and benefits society at large. Game theory provides an ideal framework for studying social dilemmas, or those situations in which people decide whether to cooperate with others (benefitting the group) or defect by prioritizing their self-interest (benefitting only the individual). The social dilemma is formulated as a mathematical game and then programmed into a computer model. Simulating the game allows researchers to investigate potential theories to explain how cooperation emerges and what promotes its persistence.