Basic Concepts for Game Theory

Game Theory ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 220-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungwook Kim

Game theory has been variously described as the science of strategy or that of conflict resolution. At its core, it has the characteristics of a mathematical construct: a clear set of concepts and assumptions, fundamental theorems, and applications to real world issues. The fact that the issues in question are mostly the domains of the social sciences, however, places game theory in a peculiar position compared to other mathematical and scientific disciplines. Following von Neumann and Morgenstern's book, it is customary to analyze what we call game situations by using parlor games—already existing ones or ones specially constructed for this very purpose—as analytical models. This chapter does this.

Game theory has been variously described as the science of strategy or that of conflict resolution. At its core, it has the characteristics of a mathematical construct: a clear set of concepts and assumptions, fundamental theorems, and applications to real world issues. The fact that the issues in question are mostly the domains of the social sciences, however, places game theory in a peculiar position compared to other mathematical and scientific disciplines. Following von Neumann and Morgenstern's book, it is customary to analyze what we call game situations by using parlor games—already existing ones or ones specially constructed for this very purpose—as analytical models. This chapter does this.


1963 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 406-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chadwick F. Alger

The study of international relations has been considerably advanced in recent years by the application of findings from other areas of the social sciences. These have included decision-making, game theory, conflict, bargaining, communication, negotiation, systems, geography, attitudes, and simulation. International relations scholars such as Morton Kaplan, Charles McClelland, Richard C. Snyder, and Harold Sprout have built important bridges between international relations and other disciplines. It has been fortunate that such innovators have often found men from other disciplines, such as Kenneth Boulding, Harold Guetzkow, Charles Osgood, and Anatol Rapoport, in the middle of the bridge. The volumes of the Journal of Conflict Resolution offer one example of how far this remarkable effort at cross-fertilization has gone.


Author(s):  
Volodymyr Reznik

The article discusses the conceptual foundations of the development of the general sociological theory of J.G.Turner. These foundations are metatheoretical ideas, basic concepts and an analytical scheme. Turner began to develop a general sociological theory with a synthesis of metatheoretical ideas of social forces and social selection. He formulated a synthetic metatheoretical statement: social forces cause selection pressures on individuals and force them to change the patterns of their social organization and create new types of sociocultural formations to survive under these pressures. Turner systematized the basic concepts of his theorizing with the allocation of micro-, meso- and macro-levels of social reality. On this basis, he substantiated a simple conceptual scheme of social dynamics. According to this scheme, the forces of macrosocial dynamics of the population, production, distribution, regulation and reproduction cause social evolution. These forces force individual and corporate actors to structurally adapt their communities in altered circumstances. Such adaptation helps to overcome or avoid the disintegration consequences of these forces. The initial stage of Turner's general theorizing is a kind of audit, modification, modernization and systematization of the conceptual apparatus of sociology. The initial results obtained became the basis for the development of his conception of the dynamics of functional selection in the social world.


Author(s):  
Е.Н. Юдина

интернет-пространство стало частью реального мира современных студентов. В наши дни особенно актуальна проблема активизации использования интернета как дополнительного ресурса в образовательном процессе. В статье приводятся результаты небольшого социологического исследования, посвященного использованию интернета в преподавании социологических дисциплин. Internet space has become a part of the real world of modern students. The problem of increasing the use of the Internet as an additional resource in the educational process is now particularly topical. The article contains the results of a small sociological study on the use of the Internet in teaching sociological disciplines.


This book provides an objective look into the dynamic world of debt markets, products, valuation, and analysis. It also provides an in-depth understanding about this subject from experts in the field, both practitioners and academics. The coverage extends from discussing basic concepts and their application to increasingly intricate and real-world situations. This volume spans the gamut from theoretical to practical, while attempting to offer a useful balance of detailed and user-friendly coverage. The book has several distinguishing features. It blends the contributions of a global array of scholars and practitioners into a single review of some of the most important topics in this area. The book follows an internally consistent approach in format and style. Hence, it is collectively much more than a compilation of chapters from an array of different authors. It presents theory without unnecessary abstraction, quantitative techniques using basic bond mathematics, and conventions at a useful level of detail. It also incorporates how investment professionals analyze and manage fixed income portfolios. The book emphasizes empirical evidence involving debt securities and markets so it is understandable to a wide array of readers. Each chapter contains discussion questions to help reinforce key concepts. The end of the book contains guideline answers to each question. Readers interested in a broad survey will benefit as will those looking for more in-depth presentations of specific areas within this field of study. In summary, the book provides a fresh look at this intriguing and dynamic but often complex subject.


1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Budge ◽  
Valentine Herman

Traditional theories of government coalition formation concentrate on formal criteria inspired by – if not directly drawn from – game theory. One such criterion is that the coalition which forms must be winning; another is that it should have no surplus members without whom it would still be winning, i.e. it should be minimal; and a third is that the number of parties should be as few as possible. The closest that such theories come to considering the substantive issues affecting the formation of coalitions in the real world is their focus on reducing the ideological diversity of parties within the government. On many occasions, however, such ideological considerations receive negligible attention from politicians, who often ignore size factors altogether.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-82
Author(s):  
Joseph Cesario

Abstract This article questions the widespread use of experimental social psychology to understand real-world group disparities. Standard experimental practice is to design studies in which participants make judgments of targets who vary only on the social categories to which they belong. This is typically done under simplified decision landscapes and with untrained decision makers. For example, to understand racial disparities in police shootings, researchers show pictures of armed and unarmed Black and White men to undergraduates and have them press "shoot" and "don't shoot" buttons. Having demonstrated categorical bias under these conditions, researchers then use such findings to claim that real-world disparities are also due to decision-maker bias. I describe three flaws inherent in this approach, flaws which undermine any direct contribution of experimental studies to explaining group disparities. First, the decision landscapes used in experimental studies lack crucial components present in actual decisions (Missing Information Flaw). Second, categorical effects in experimental studies are not interpreted in light of other effects on outcomes, including behavioral differences across groups (Missing Forces Flaw). Third, there is no systematic testing of whether the contingencies required to produce experimental effects are present in real-world decisions (Missing Contingencies Flaw). I apply this analysis to three research topics to illustrate the scope of the problem. I discuss how this research tradition has skewed our understanding of the human mind within and beyond the discipline and how results from experimental studies of bias are generally misunderstood. I conclude by arguing that the current research tradition should be abandoned.


2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-71
Author(s):  
Zh.K. Madalieva ◽  

The article discusses in detail the essence and meaning of ritual as a social action. The study of the nature of this phenomenon involves, first of all, the study of various approaches to the definition of the concept of "ritual" and related phenomena. Analyzing the existing definitions, the author comes to the conclusion that "ritual" is a certain set of actions that have symbolic meaning. The symbolism of the ritual is manifested in its connecting role with the world of the sacred, sacred. The article emphasizes that in the consciousness of a person in a traditional society, the sacred world is present in the real world through ritual. As an archaic form of culture, ritual was also a way of regulating and maintaining collective life. The ritual served as a means of integrating and maintaining the integrity of the human community, giving it stability. Therefore, the article focuses on the social functions of the ritual in both public and individual life.


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