You and two friends are going to the movies and are going to one of three movies: A, B, or C. You prefer movie A to movie B and movie B to movie C. One of your friends prefers movie B to movie C and movie C to movie A. You other friend prefers movie C to movie A and movie A to movie B. The three of you decide to use majority rule voting to decide which movie you will see. If you first have a vote between movies A and B and then between the winner of that vote and movie C, then movie ________ will win. However, if you first vote between movies A and C and then between the winner of that vote and movie B, then movie ________ will win. This is an example of the ________.

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A; C; voting paradoxIn the first scenario, where the vote is between movies A and B, you and your other friend who prefers A to B would vote for A, making A win over B. Then, in a vote between A and C, your friend who prefers C to A and the other friend who prefers C to A would vote for C, making C win. Thus, movie C wins in this scenario.In the second scenario, where the vote is first between movies A and C, you and the friend who prefers A to C would vote for A, making A win over C. Then, in a vote between A and B, you would vote for A, but your two friends would vote for B (since one prefers B to A and the other prefers B to C and A to C, implying a preference for B over A when directly compared), making B win. Thus, movie B wins in this scenario.This situation, where the group's preferences can cycle depending on the order of voting, is known as the voting paradox or Condorcet paradox. It illustrates that majority rule voting can lead to inconsistent outcomes when preferences among three or more options are cyclic.

You and Two Friends Are Going to the Movies and Are