Effects of punishment in a mobile population playing the prisoner's dilemma game

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2011 Dec;84(6 Pt 2):066115. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.84.066115. Epub 2011 Dec 20.

Abstract

We deal with a system of prisoner's dilemma players undergoing continuous motion in a two-dimensional plane. In contrast to previous work, we introduce altruistic punishment after the game. We find punishing only a few of the cooperator-defector interactions is enough to lead the system to a cooperative state in environments where otherwise defection would take over the population. This happens even with soft nonsocial punishment (where both cooperators and defectors punish other players, a behavior observed in many human populations). For high enough mobilities or temptations to defect, low rates of social punishment can no longer avoid the breakdown of cooperation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Altruism
  • Biological Evolution
  • Cooperative Behavior
  • Game Theory*
  • Humans
  • Punishment