game theory, branch of applied mathematics that provides tools for analyzing situations in which parties, called players, make decisions that are interdependent. This interdependence causes each player to consider the other player’s possible decisions, or strategies, in formulating strategy.
Full Answer
What are the basics of game theory?
The Basics Of Game Theory. Game theory is the process of modeling the strategic interaction between two or more players in a situation containing set rules and outcomes . While used in a number of disciplines, game theory is most notably used as a tool within the study of economics.
What is game theory's real name?
Game Theory (Real name: Matthew Patrick) is yet another video game related YouTube show that makes retrofags scream " CHILDHOOD RUINED !!!" in the comments section (he is also a YouTube sponsorship whore).
What exactly is 'game theory'?
Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interaction between rational decision-makers . It has applications in all fields of social science, as well as in logic and computer science.
How is game theory used in real life?
Other examples of using game theory to make a decision in everyday life is when to change lanes in traffic, when to ask for something, or even when to wash the dishes. Although the aspect of game theory is more apparent in some examples compared to others, there is still an aspect of it in most decisions we make.
Why is game theory important?
For example, businesses may face dilemmas such as whether to retire existing products or develop new ones, lower prices relative to the competition, or employ new marketing strategies. Economists often use game theory to understand oligopoly firm behavior. It helps to predict likely outcomes when firms engage in certain behaviors, such as price-fixing and collusion .
What Is Game Theory?
Game theory is a theoretical framework for conceiving social situations among competing players. In some respects, game theory is the science of strategy, or at least the optimal decision-making of independent and competing actors in a strategic setting.
What are some of the assumptions about these games?
Like many economic models, game theory also contains a set of strict assumptions that must hold for the theory to make good predictions in practice. First, all players are utility-maximizing rational actors that have full information about the game, the rules, and the consequences. Players are not allowed to communicate or interact with one another. Possible outcomes are not only known in advance but also cannot be changed. The number of players in a game can theoretically be infinite, but most games will be put into the context of only two players.
Who came up with game theory?
Game theory is largely attributed to the work of mathematician John von Neumann and economist Oskar Morgenstern in the 1940s and was developed extensively by many other researchers and scholars in the 1950s. It remains an area of active research and applied science to this day.
What is equilibrium in a game?
Equilibrium : The point in a game where both players have made their decisions and an outcome is reached
How did game theory change economics?
Game theory brought about a revolution in economics by addressing crucial problems in prior mathematical economic models. For instance, neoclassical economics struggled to understand entrepreneurial anticipation and could not handle the imperfect competition. Game theory turned attention away from steady-state equilibrium toward the market process.
What is a game?
Game : Any set of circumstances that has a result dependent on the actions of two or more decision-makers (players)
What is game theory?
Game theory was once hailed as a revolutionary interdisciplinary phenomenon bringing together psychology, mathematics, philosophy and an extensive mix of other academic areas. Some 11 game theorists have been awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their contributions to the discipline;
What is game theory in business?
The classical example of game theory in the business world arises when analyzing an economic environment characterized by an oligopoly. Competing companies have the option to accept the basic pricing structure agreed upon by the other companies or to introduce a lower price schedule. Despite it being in the common interest to cooperate with competitors, following a logical thought process causes the firms to default. As a result, everyone is worse off. Although this is a fairly basic scenario, decision analysis has influenced the general business environment and is a prime factor in the use of compliance contracts.
What is zero sum game?
Essentially, any quantifiable gains by one party are equal to the losses of another party. Swaps, forwards, options and other financial instruments are often described as "zero-sum" instruments, taking their roots from a concept that now seems distant.
Why is game theory important?
Game theory has come to play an increasingly important role in logic and in computer science. Several logical theories have a basis in game semantics. In addition, computer scientists have used games to model interactive computations. Also, game theory provides a theoretical basis to the field of multi-agent systems.
What is game theory?
e. Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interaction among rational decision-makers. It has applications in all fields of social science, as well as in logic, systems science and computer science. Originally, it addressed zero-sum games, in which each participant's gains or losses are exactly balanced by those ...
What is a symmetric game?
A symmetric game is a game where the payoffs for playing a particular strategy depend only on the other strategies employed, not on who is playing them. That is, if the identities of the players can be changed without changing the payoff to the strategies, then a game is symmetric.
What is cooperative in a game?
A game is cooperative if the players are able to form binding commitments externally enforced (e.g. through contract law ). A game is non-cooperative if players cannot form alliances or if all agreements need to be self-enforcing (e.g. through credible threats ).
Why is game theory important in project management?
Sensible decision-making is critical for the success of projects. In project management, game theory is used to model the decision-making process of players, such as investors, project managers, contractors, sub-contractors, governments and customers. Quite often, these players have competing interests, and sometimes their interests are directly detrimental to other players, making project management scenarios well-suited to be modeled by game theory.
When was game theory first applied?
In the 1970s , game theory was extensively applied in biology, largely as a result of the work of John Maynard Smith and his evolutionarily stable strategy. In addition, the concepts of correlated equilibrium, trembling hand perfection, and common knowledge were introduced and analyzed.
When was game theory developed?
Game theory was developed extensively in the 1950s by many scholars. It was explicitly applied to evolution in the 1970s, although similar developments go back at least as far as the 1930s. Game theory has been widely recognized as an important tool in many fields. As of 2014.
What is game theory?
Game theory, branch of applied mathematics that provides tools for analyzing situations in which parties, called players, make decisions that are interdependent. This interdependence causes each player to consider the other player’s possible decisions, or strategies, in formulating strategy. A solution to a game describes the optimal decisions ...
Who developed game theory?
In fact, game theory was originally developed by the Hungarian-born American mathematician John von Neumann and his Princeton University colleague Oskar Morgenstern, a German-born American economist, to solve problems in economics.
What is a solution to a game?
A solution to a game describes the optimal decisions of the players, who may have similar, opposed, or mixed interests, and the outcomes that may result from these decisions. Although game theory can be and has been used to analyze parlour games, its applications are much broader.
What is extensive form in parlour games?
Extensive-form games can be described by a “game tree,” in which each turn is a vertex of the tree, with each branch indicating the players’ successive choices.
How to describe a game?
Extensive-form games can be described by a “game tree,” in which each turn is a vertex of the tree, with each branch indicating the players’ successive choices.
What is a one person game?
One-person games. One-person games are also known as games against nature. With no opponents, the player only needs to list available options and then choose the optimal outcome. When chance is involved the game might seem to be more complicated, but in principle the decision is still relatively simple.
What is a constant sum game?
The extent to which the goals of the players coincide or conflict is another basis for classifying games. Constant-sum games are games of total conflict, which are also called games of pure competition. Poker, for example, is a constant-sum game because the combined wealth of the players remains constant, though its distribution shifts in ...
How important is game theory?
The importance of game theory to modern analysis and decision-making can be gauged by the fact that since 1970, as many as 12 leading economists and scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their contributions to game theory . Game theory is applied in a number of fields, including business, finance, economics, ...
How does game theory help players?
Game theory can help players reach optimal decision-making when confronted by independent and competing actors in a strategic setting.
What is game theory?
Game theory is a framework for understanding choice in situations among competing players. Game theory can help players reach optimal decision-making when confronted by independent and competing actors in a strategic setting. A common "game" form that appears in economic and business situations is the prisoner's dilemma, ...
Who invented game theory?
Game theory, the study of strategic decision-making, brings together disparate disciplines such as mathematics, psychology, and philosophy. Game theory was invented by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern in 1944 and has come a long way since then. The importance of game theory to modern analysis ...
What is the dominant strategy in Deadlock?
A dominant strategy for a player is defined as one that produces the highest payoff of any available strategy, regardless of the strategies employed by the other players.
Why is game theory more complex than one on one negotiations?
Since receiving an increase in salary often affects other salaries in the company, more people are involved and these types of games are more complex than simple one on one negotiations. The more people involved the more difficult it is to negotiate, so breaking negotiations down to one partner and using game theory with him is advised rather than attempting to negotiate with multiple people.
How to play optimal strategy?
First make sure the odds you are getting are equal to the odds your opponent gets in the pot, and if done at the correct odds you would be taking advantage of any decision your opponent makes. Much like in the real estate example, playing your hand the optimal strategy is always the best decision, in game theory.
Is game theory used in real estate?
In Real Estate Negotiations. Even if unaware, game theory is often present in real estate negotiations. Most negotiating moves are previously understood in real estate negotiations, which makes the game a bit more clear than in other situations. However, in multi-offer deals, the situations change immensely.
Can game theory be used to buy a car?
As we posted yesterday, game theory can be used to purchase a car at a much cheaper price than simply going to a dealership and haggling with a car salesman.
Is fantasy football a two player game?
Fantasy football is an N-player game, meaning there are more than two players participating. "N-player games cannot be 'solved' the same way as 2-player games can, as I demonstrated with the example of the run-pass balance problem. But in game theory, there is usually a 'minimax' solution to zero-sum games.
What Is Game Theory?
How Game Theory Works
- The key pioneers of game theory were mathematician John von Neumann and economist Oskar Morgenstern in the 1940s.1Mathematician John Nash is regarded by many as providing the first significant extension of the von Neumann and Morgenstern work. The focus of game theory is the game, which serves as a model of an interactive situation among rational players. The key to ga…
Types of Game Theories
- Although there are many types (e.g., symmetric/asymmetric, simultaneous/sequential, etc.) of game theories, cooperative and non-cooperative game theories are the most common. Cooperative game theory deals with how coalitions, or cooperative groups, interact when only the payoffs are known. It is a game between coalitions of players rather than betwee…
Examples of Game Theory
- There are several "games" that game theory analyzes. Below, we will just briefly describe a few of these.
Limitations of Game Theory
- The biggest issue with game theory is that, like most other economic models, it relies on the assumption that people are rational actors that are self-interested and utility-maximizing. Of course, we are social beings who do cooperate and do care about the welfare of others, often at our own expense. Game theory cannot account for the fact that in some situations we may fall in…
Overview
Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions among rational agents. It has applications in all fields of social science, as well as in logic, systems science and computer science. Originally, it addressed two-person zero-sum games, in which each participant's gains or losses are exactly balanced by those of other participants. In the 21st century, game theory applies to a wide range of behavioral relations; it is now an umbrella term for the science of logical …
History
Discussions on the mathematics of games began long before the rise of modern mathematical game theory. Cardano's work on games of chance in Liber de ludo aleae (Book on Games of Chance), which was written around 1564 but published posthumously in 1663, formulated some of the field's basic ideas. In the 1650s, Pascal and Huygens developed the concept of expectation on reasoni…
Game types
A game is cooperative if the players are able to form binding commitments externally enforced (e.g. through contract law). A game is non-cooperative if players cannot form alliances or if all agreements need to be self-enforcing (e.g. through credible threats).
Cooperative games are often analyzed through the framework of cooperative …
Representation of games
The games studied in game theory are well-defined mathematical objects. To be fully defined, a game must specify the following elements: the players of the game, the information and actions available to each player at each decision point, and the payoffs for each outcome. (Eric Rasmusen refers to these four "essential elements" by the acronym "PAPI".) A game theorist typically uses th…
General and applied uses
As a method of applied mathematics, game theory has been used to study a wide variety of human and animal behaviors. It was initially developed in economics to understand a large collection of economic behaviors, including behaviors of firms, markets, and consumers. The first use of game-theoretic analysis was by Antoine Augustin Cournot in 1838 with his solution of the Courn…
In popular culture
• Based on the 1998 book by Sylvia Nasar, the life story of game theorist and mathematician John Nash was turned into the 2001 biopic A Beautiful Mind, starring Russell Crowe as Nash.
• The 1959 military science fiction novel Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein mentioned "games theory" and "theory of games". In the 1997 film of the same name, the character Carl Jenkins referred to his military intelligence assignment as being assigned to "games and theory".
See also
• Applied ethics
• Bandwidth-sharing game
• Chainstore paradox
• Collective intentionality
• Glossary of game theory
Further reading
• Aumann, Robert J (1987), "game theory", The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, vol. 2, pp. 460–82.
• Camerer, Colin (2003), "Introduction", Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction, Russell Sage Foundation, pp. 1–25, ISBN 978-0-691-09039-9, archived from the original on 14 May 2011, retrieved 9 February 2011, Description.