Physics – Physics and Society
Scientific paper
2011-03-16
Physics
Physics and Society
Accepted for publication in the Journal of Theoretical Biology (JTB)
Scientific paper
Understanding the emergence of cooperation is a central issue in evolutionary game theory. The hardest setup for the attainment of cooperation in a population of individuals is the Public Goods game in which cooperative agents generate a common good at their own expenses, while defectors "free-ride" this good. Eventually this causes the exhaustion of the good, a situation which is bad for everybody. Previous results have shown that introducing reputation, allowing for volunteer participation, punishing defectors, rewarding cooperators or structuring agents, can enhance cooperation. Here we present a model which shows how the introduction of rare, malicious agents -that we term jokers- performing just destructive actions on the other agents induce bursts of cooperation. The appearance of jokers promotes a rock-paper-scissors dynamics, where jokers outbeat defectors and cooperators outperform jokers, which are subsequently invaded by defectors. Thus, paradoxically, the existence of destructive agents acting indiscriminately promotes cooperation.
Arenas Alex
Camacho J. J.
Cuesta Jos'e A.
Requejo Rubén
No associations
LandOfFree
The Joker effect: cooperation driven by destructive agents does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Joker effect: cooperation driven by destructive agents, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Joker effect: cooperation driven by destructive agents will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-263917