Lab Questions

1. Do you think human societies are characterized more by competition

or cooperation?
I think that human societies are characterized more by competition,
If a human societies were characterized by cooperation then it would make them unique
and their own group it would make them the same society. With competition it shows the
differences and the more competition the more they are characterized.

2. What is the prisoners dilemma?

The prisoner's dilemma is actually a story that's overlaid on a mathematical matrix that
came out of the game theory in the early years of thinking about nuclear war.

3. What is the ultimatum game? What did the researchers find when they
used this game in other cultures?
Another economic game that may not be as well known as the prisoner's dilemma is the
ultimatum game, and it's also a very interesting probe of our assumptions about the way
people make economic transactions. Researches found out that using the game in
different cultures that each had radically different ideas of what is fair. Which suggests
that instead of there being an innate sense of fairness, that somehow the basis of our
economic transactions can be influenced by our social institutions, whether we know that
or not.

4. Do you think the humans will always destroy the commons (water,
land, etc.) that they share? Why or why not?
I dont think humans will destroy the commons that they share, but it does depend. These
days cultures and groups get along more than they did, they all in common need water,
land etc. If they all really need it the struggles will bring them together. But I feel like
there would have to be rules and if someone was to break the rules then could destroy the
commons so it really does depend on what happens between them and if the respect them.

5. How do sites like Wikipedia illustrate an instinct to work together and

cooperate?
Wikipedia has used thousands of volunteers to create a free encyclopedia with a million
and a half articles in 200 languages in just a couple of years, therefore people work
together to create a page where people all around the world can learn together. If people
chose not to work together they wouldnt be help from other cultures to change
something if its not correct or work together to learn about other cultures.