ABSTRACT

Each actor is in reality both a source and a target, unrestrained in response choice and in pursuit of complex and multidimensional values or utilities. Decomposed versions of the prisoner's dilemma lead to more cooperative responding than do matrix versions, perhaps because in the decomposed versions the exploitative opportunities are obscured and the social exchange, norm-laden character of the relationship is emphasized. Most of the empirical research to date has been in distributive bargaining. The experimenter usually studies two individuals in a distributive bargaining situation without integrative opportunities, with highly restricted opportunities for communications, and with no group for the individual to represent. If the buyer knows how much the seller will minimally take in a bargaining transaction, but the seller does not know how much the buyer might be prepared to give, one would believe that the buyer would have the advantage in the situation.