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Updated: May 5, 2026

The HoneyComb Paradigm for Research on Collective Human Behavior
Published on: January 19, 2019
Prisoner's dilemma on real social networks: revisited
Sharon M Cameron1, Ariel Cintron-Arias
1East Tennessee State University, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Box 70663, Johnson City, TN 37614-1701, United States. zsmc70@goldmail.etsu.edu.
Abstract:
Prisoner's Dilemma is a game theory model used to describe altruistic behavior seen in various populations. This theoretical game is important in understanding why a seemingly selfish strategy does persist and spread throughout a population that is mixing homogeneously at random. For a population with structure determined by social interactions, Prisoner's Dilemma brings to light certain requirements for the altruistic strategy to become established. Monte Carlo simulations of Prisoner's Dilemma are carried out using both simulated social networks and a dataset of a real social network. In both scenarios we confirm the requirements for the persistence of altruism in a population.
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