[yvonne]

A prisoner's dilemma is a situation in which two individuals involved in the same crime face differing sets of punishments, depending on whether each, one, or none confess.

The “dilemma” faced by the prisoners here is that, whatever the other does, each is better off confessing than remaining silent. But the outcome obtained when both confess is worse for each than the outcome they would have obtained had both remained silent. A common view is that the puzzle illustrates a conflict between individual and group rationality.

This Forbes article suggests that those involved in college athletics face such a situation, and proposes ways to remedy the situation.

[yvonne]

A prisoner's dilemma is a situation in which two individuals involved in the same crime face differing sets of punishments, depending on whether each, one, or none confess.

The “dilemma” faced by the prisoners here is that, whatever the other does, each is better off confessing than remaining silent. But the outcome obtained when both confess is worse for each than the outcome they would have obtained had both remained silent. A common view is that the puzzle illustrates a conflict between individual and group rationality.

This Forbes article suggests that those involved in college athletics face such a situation, and proposes ways to remedy the situation.