Figure 11.6 Payoff Matrix for the Prisoners’ Dilemma The four cells represent each of the possible outcomes of the prisoners’ game If Johnny confesses, Frankie’s best choice is to confess—she will get a three-year sentence rather than the six-year sentence she would get if she did not confess If Johnny does not confess, Frankie’s best strategy is still to confess—she will get a one-year rather than a two-year sentence In this game, Frankie’s best strategy is to confess, regardless of what Johnny does When a player’s best strategy is the same regardless of the action of the other player, that strategy is said to be a dominant strategy Frankie’s dominant strategy is to confess to the burglary For Johnny, the best strategy to follow, if Frankie confesses, is to confess The best strategy to follow if Frankie does not confess is also to confess Confessing is a dominant strategy for Johnny as well A game in which there is a dominant strategy for each player is called adominant strategy equilibrium Here, the dominant strategy equilibrium Attributed to Libby Rittenberg and Timothy Tregarthen Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books/ Saylor.org 592