Leveraging Game Theory in Parenting
Using Game Theory to finally have a moment of peace in the household; Can it be done?
The answer is a resounding YES. Scientists and Psychologists have learned how children choose to negotiate, and often, with the right incentives, children reach these negotiations on their own.
First we must understand why people choose to cooperate. It is known that adults are more likely to share with people that fulfil at least of of the following: people who have shared with us, people who share with others, and friends and family (close relation). It wasn’t until 2008 that Spelke and Kristina R. Olson conducted several psychological/sociological experiments on a kid’s willingness to share. These experiments demonstrated that humans develop the tendencies to share and cooperate with these select traits, mentioned previously, from an early age. Using these concepts, we can establish a notion of fair play in children with game theory principles.
In the famous Prisoner’s Dilemma of game theory, both prisoners choose to confess to avoid the hasher punishment even though if both prisoners were to keep silent, then they would each receive a greater benefit. When we apply this concept to children, we see that if one child were to tattle on another, the other child would be more willing to tattle on that child given the chance. But if the first child were to keep silent, the second is more willing to return the favor. If siblings started to give cooperation a try, they would see that both will gain in this type of relationship. This strategy in Game Theory is called “tit for tat”.
For children to adopt “tit for tat”, they establish an internal sense of fairness. To best instill this philosophy on children, it is best to first start encouraging it. When you have two children alternating in doing a task/chore, you should be fair in a reward. This way each child will be incentivized in completing the task and this will encourage the other too. This will cause less dissidence in the household and a better relationship between siblings.
References :
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/05/when-a-child-thinks-life-is-unfair-use-game-theory/?_r=0
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/game-theory-for-parents1/