Question

Show how the Prisoner’s Dilemma led to massive doping in international track and field. What can authorities do to prevent doping from becoming a dominant strategy?

Answer 1

The prisoner's dilemma is an example of a game which is analysed in game theory that shows the reason why two rational individuals might not co-operate even it is in their interest to do so. In this both the parties act in their own interests. Both the parties choose to protect themselves at the expense of each other.

Doping is spread on international track and field. It is very popular in sports to take drugs and enhance performance in sports. Sportsmen want to escape from doping test and international agencies are trying to stop the players from taking drugs. This is a high security issue.

Prisoner's dilemma in doping : Let us consider an example to understand this. Suppose A and B are two players or racers. If A agrees to take the drugs then B will also agree to take drugs otherwise A will have an advantage over B. Similarly if A refuses to take drugs then B will agree to take drugs because he will have an advantage over A by taking drugs and better chance of winning also. If they both do not take drugs then none will have an advantage but they do not have trust on another so they both take drugs to take advantage. So by keeping this thinking every player wants an advantage over others so taking of drugs has been spread over all the countries. It has been reached international track and field.

Doping as dominant strategy: Dominant strategy is a situation where both the players confess. It is an optimal move for an player regardless of how other players act. Both players opt for taking drugs to take advantage over each other. This is a dominant strategy for both the players. Authorities are working to prevent becoming doping as a dominant strategy because by this every player will start taking drugs. They are doing regular test to prevent this. If anyone is suspected of taking drugs then a dope test is conducted to test whether the player has taken drugs or not. This is done under total security because players want to escape this test at any cost. They are also detecting illegal methods to prevent from this test or change the dope test report. Moreover the mindset of players should be changed. They should keep in mind that no player is taking drugs so every player has to play with his capabilities. Authorities should take these steps to prevent doping becoming a dominant strategy.