Release Message:  Two people might not cooperate even if it is in both their best interests to do so. Authored by Merrill M. Flood and Melvin Dresher, with Albert W. Tucker.

Description:  Two people might not cooperate even if it is in both their best interests to do so. The prisoner's dilemma is a standard example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows why two completely "rational" individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interests to do so. It was originally framed by Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher working at RAND in 1950. Albert W. Tucker formalized the game with prison sentence rewards and named it, "prisoner's dilemma" (Poundstone, 1992), presenting it as follows: