Skip main navigation

Cookies Notification

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. By continuing to browse the site, you consent to the use of our cookies. Learn More
×

System Upgrade on Tue, May 28th, 2024 at 2am (EDT)

Existing users will be able to log into the site and access content. However, E-commerce and registration of new users may not be available for up to 12 hours.
For online purchase, please visit us again. Contact us at customercare@wspc.com for any enquiries.

SEARCH GUIDE  Download Search Tip PDF File

  • articleNo Access

    CAN A FALLIBLE TIT-FOR-TAT STRATEGY MAINTAIN COOPERATION IN A POPULATION OTHERWISE COMPOSED OF NON-CONDITIONAL STRATEGISTS?

    Contrary to what often seems to be accepted, 100% Tit-for-Tat is not an ESS, even in the three-pure-strategy game Tit-for-Tat-Always Cooperate-Always Defect, for which 100% Always Defect finally remains the only attractor for the composition of “asexual” populations. The present paper firstly investigates the dynamics of the Tit-for-Tat-Always Cooperate-Always Defect game for asexual populations, with the more realistic assumption that Tit-for-Tat sometimes fails to apply its algorithm. Surprisingly, this perturbation of the original game leads to different attractor patterns, in relation to the numerical values of the expected number of meetings and of Tit-for-Tat’s failure rate. These patterns generally include one punctual attractor for which most dyads at least partially cooperate. Nevertheless, the attractor alternative to 100% Always Defect in each pattern may become unstable when certain mixed strategies (cooperating and defecting at random) are introduced into the game, and the whole flow of strategy frequencies may then converge towards 100% Always Defect. Beyond the reiterated Prisoner’s Dilemma, the present analysis illustrates how self-organizing processes at infra-populational levels, like that occurring in dyads including at least one fallible Tit-for-Tat, can influence the evolution of populations.