The following figure depicts four simultaneous-move games. The first element of each payoff cell is the payoff to Player A. The other element is the payoff to Player B.

-Refer to the figure above.Which of these simultaneous-move games best represents the following scenario: the prisoner's dilemma,where X means confess and Y means hold out.
A) (1)
B) (2)
C) (3)
D) (4)

Question

The following figure depicts four simultaneous-move games. The first element of each payoff cell is the payoff to Player A. The other element is the payoff to Player B.
 
-Refer to the figure above.Which of these simultaneous-move games best represents the following scenario: the prisoner's dilemma,where X means confess and Y means hold out.
A) (1) 
B) (2) 
C) (3) 
D) (4)

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The prisoner's dilemma is a two-player game where each player has an incentive to defect or confess (equivalent to X in this scenario) regardless of what the other player chooses. The best outcome for both players is to cooperate or hold out (equivalent to Y in this scenario), but each player has a higher payoff if they defect while the other player cooperates. Game (2) represents this scenario, where both players have a dominant strategy to confess, resulting in a Nash equilibrium at (2,2) which is worse for both players compared to if they both hold out (0,0).

The Following Figure Depicts Four Simultaneous-Move Games