For a couple of years, I used to be hooked to the Game Show Network. I would watch game shows for hours. It didn't really matter which ones they were or even if they were new ones--I just liked watching the competition and playing along at home, I guess. There was this show that came on every so often called Friend or Foe that is a perfect example of the Prisoner's Dilemma. The game had a few sets of partners who competed against each other to end up in the final round. The partners won money throughout the show, and in the final round, the winning partners ended up putting the Prisoner's Dilemma into practice with their money on the line. Both people decided to either cooperate or compete with their partner, and if they both cooperated they split the money. However, if one person competed while the other cooperated, the competitive one took all the money. Finally, if they both competed, they lost all of their money. This fascinated me as a kid, and I had no idea that they got it from a social psychological principle that applies to other situations as well.
Dresher, M. (1961). The Mathematics of Games of Strategy: Theory and Applications Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Flood, M.M. (1952). Some experimental games. Research memorandum RM-789. RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA.
I used to watch the Game Show Network too! However, I don't think I ever saw Friend or Foe. I'm sure it was an interesting game though, I mean the Prisoner's Dlemma would make for a good game show... competition, conflict, done!
ReplyDeleteI loved the Game Show Network when I actually had it. I remember seeing this show come up in the schedule at which point I would ignore it. The show I really watched a whole lot was Ninja Warrior where people would run through ridiculous obstacle courses and just be awesome in general. Although knowing what I do now about social psych, I feel like I really would have enjoyed Friend or Foe.
ReplyDeleteI totally remember this show! The Prisoner's Dilemma is so fascinating. I'd liked to think I would be cooperative, but I'm probably high likely to go the competitive route :/.
ReplyDeletep.s. that's suck a cool picture you found for this blog :)
I've never heard of Friend or Foe before, but that really is cool that they made a game show like that. People who go on game shows are more likely to highly motivated to ~get that money~, rather than just ~play for fun~, so it really does prey on people's competitive drive to win it all. I don't like that kind of pressure, myself. That show would make me into a ball of anxiety if I were to play it with stakes like that: that whole "counterfactual thinking" would get me. If we were both competitive and both lost, I would be mad at both of us for being selfish, but if the other competed when I cooperated, I would think "why was I naive enough to trust him/her?!" Ahhh, yes, and a Dilemma, it is.
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy that they used the Prisoner's Dilemma on TV. I was wondering if the partners knew each other before they got on the show because that would definitely put an interesting spin on it. It would definitely make you find out who your friends are.
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