ABSTRACT
A social dilemma is a situation in which a selfish course of action is tempting for each individual, but in which such an action would result in poor outcomes for everyone if everyone succumbed to the temptation. The scenario in the prisoner’s dilemma has been employed to see whether people can cooperate when there is a conflict between self-interest and collective interest, and if they can, what behavioral strategies are most conducive to cooperation as opposed to defection. Research with the Prisoner’s Dilemma has shown that there is a tendency for cooperation to increase, not decrease, when environmental conditions are harsh or when resources are scarce rather than plentiful. Paul Van Lange and his colleagues provide evidence that childhood experiences shape how people approach social dilemmas. Justice is considered by social scientists of all stripes—political scientists, economists, anthropologists, and social psychologists—to be critical to social life.
