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Stag Hunt: Game Theory Explained

The stag hunt is a game theory concept that describes a conflict between social cooperation and individual safety. In the stag hunt, two hunters can each choose to individually hunt a hare or cooperate to hunt a stag, which provides a greater reward if successful. If one hunter chooses the stag but the other chooses the hare, the stag hunter gets nothing. This demonstrates the tension between choosing a guaranteed individual reward by hunting hare alone versus cooperating for a potentially higher social reward if the other also chooses stag. The stag hunt game has two pure strategy Nash equilibria representing either both players cooperating to hunt stag or both choosing individual safety by hunting hare.

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248 views6 pages

Stag Hunt: Game Theory Explained

The stag hunt is a game theory concept that describes a conflict between social cooperation and individual safety. In the stag hunt, two hunters can each choose to individually hunt a hare or cooperate to hunt a stag, which provides a greater reward if successful. If one hunter chooses the stag but the other chooses the hare, the stag hunter gets nothing. This demonstrates the tension between choosing a guaranteed individual reward by hunting hare alone versus cooperating for a potentially higher social reward if the other also chooses stag. The stag hunt game has two pure strategy Nash equilibria representing either both players cooperating to hunt stag or both choosing individual safety by hunting hare.

Uploaded by

lamera16amelia
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

STAG HUNT

GAME
THEORY
STA
G
H AR E

IN GAME THEORY, THE STAG HUNT IS A GAME WHICH DESCRIBES A CONFLICT


BETWEEN SAFETY AND SOCIAL COOPERATION. OTHER NAMES FOR IT OR ITS
VARIANTS INCLUDE "ASSURANCE GAME", "COORDINATION GAME", AND "TRUST
DILEMMA".

JEAN-JACQUES ROUSSEAU DESCRIBED A SITUATION IN WHICH TWO


INDIVIDUALS GO OUT ON A HUNT. EACH CAN INDIVIDUALLY CHOOSE TO HUNT
A STAG OR HUNT A HARE.

JEAN-JACQUES

ROU SS EAU
STA
G
H AR E

EACH PLAYER MUST CHOOSE AN ACTION WITHOUT KNOWING THE


CHOICE OF THE OTHER. IF AN INDIVIDUAL HUNTS A STAG, HE
MUST HAVE THE COOPERATION OF HIS PARTNER IN ORDER TO
SUCCEED. AN INDIVIDUAL CAN GET A HARE BY HIMSELF, BUT A
HARE IS WORTH LESS THAN A STAG. THIS IS TAKEN TO BE AN
IMPORTANT ANALOGY FOR SOCIAL COOPERATION. SO YOU CAN
SEE IN THE TABLE THAT IF THE PLAYER ONE CHOOSE A STAG
AND THE PLAYER TWO TOO THEN THEY WILL BOTH GET A
PAYOFF OF
5. BUT IF THE HUNTER ONE TAKES A RABBIT A THE PLAYER TWO

Stag Hare
A STAG THEN THE FIRST PLAYER WILL GET 4 AND THE SECOND 0
AND SO ON.
STA
G
H AR E

A STAG HUNT IS A GAME WITH TWO PURE STRATEGY NASH


EQUILIBRIA - ONE THAT IS RISK DOMINANT ANOTHER THAT IS
PAYOFF DOMINANT. THE STRATEGY PAIR (STAG, STAG) IS PAYOFF
DOMINANT SINCE PAYOFFS ARE HIGHER FOR BOTH PLAYERS
COMPARED TO THE OTHER PURE NE, (RABBIT, RABBIT). ON THE
OTHER HAND, (RABBIT, RABBIT) RISK DOMINATES (STAG, STAG)
STRATEGY SINCE IF UNCERTAINTY EXISTS ABOUT THE OTHER
PLAYER'S ACTION, GATHERING WILL PROVIDE A HIGHER EXPECTED
PAYOFF. THE MORE UNCERTAINTY PLAYERS HAVE ABOUT THE
ACTIONS OF THE OTHER PLAYER(S), THE MORE LIKELY THEY WILL
CHOOSE THE STRATEGY CORRESPONDING TO IT.

Figure 1: Example o
BOTH PLAYERS PREFER ONE EQUILIBRIUM TO THE OTHER - THE

f s tag h un t
BOTH ARE PARETO OPTIMAL AND HICKS OPTIMAL.
STA
G
H AR E

THE STAG HUNT DIFFERS FROM THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA IN THAT


THERE ARE TWO NASH EQUILIBRIA: WHEN BOTH PLAYERS COOPERATE
AND BOTH PLAYERS DEFECT. IN THE PRISONERS DILEMMA, HOWEVER,
DESPITE THE FACT THAT BOTH PLAYERS COOPERATING IS PARETO
EFFICIENT, THE ONLY NASH EQUILIBRIUM IS WHEN BOTH PLAYERS
CHOOSE TO DEFECT.

THERE IS A SUBSTANTIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STAG HUNT


AND THE PRISONER'S DILEMMA. IN BIOLOGY MANY CIRCUMSTANCES
THAT HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED AS PRISONER'S DILEMMA MIGHT ALSO
BE INTERPRETED AS A STAG HUNT, DEPENDING ON HOW FITNESS IS
CALCULATED. IT IS ALSO THE CASE THAT SOME HUMAN INTERACTIONS
THAT SEEM LIKE PRISONER'S DILEMMAS MAY IN FACT BE STAG
HUNTS. BUT OCCASIONALLY PLAYERS WHO DEFECT AGAINST
COOPERATORS ARE PUNISHED FOR THEIR DEFECTION. FOR INSTANCE,
Figure 1: Example o
IF THE EXPECTED PUNISHMENT IS -2, THEN THE IMPOSITION OF
THIS PUNISHMENT TURNS THE ABOVE PRISONER'S DILEMMA INTO f s tag h un t
THE STAG HUNT GIVEN AT THE INTRODUCTION.
A c t i v i t y 9:
PowerPoint
Making Activity
Amelia F. Lamera

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