Motion sickness susceptibility and solution choice in a pragmatic paradox

This paper reports on an experiment which employed a classic paradox, known as the 'prisoner's dilemma', to explore possible differences in problem solving preference across a spectrum of motion sickness susceptibility. A mathematical form of the problem was used in which the subject was asked to imagine playing a game without communicating with his hypothetical partner. There were three possible solutions to the problem, a win-win, a lose-lose, and a win-lose solution. The results support the contention that a cognitive bias exists across a spectrum of motion sickness susceptibility, highly motion sick individuals having a greater tendency to pick the solution which allows both participants to win. This bias runs counter to that which might be expected on the basis of personality traits (non-motion sick individuals are more socially involved), and suggests that the cognitive tendency may reflect basic problem-solving strategies rooted in orientation process. The potential implications of these findings are discussed.