FIGURE 10 THE CLASSIC PRISONER’S DILEMMA
Matthew and Chris are two suspects held in separate cells. Each is given an opportunity to confess to the crime, with the resulting jail sentences shown for each outcome. Under this payoff structure, the optimal response by each player is to confess, resulting in a single Nash equilibrium where each receives two years of jail time. This Nash equilibrium is a Prisoner’s Dilemma because a better outcome (not confessing) exists for both players.