Cooperation: A Systematic Review of how to Enable Agent to Circumvent the Prisoner’s Dilemma

Abstract

It is widely accepted that rational individuals are unable to create cooperation in a prisoner’s dilemma. However, in everyday life, cooperation, for example, during a fishing moratorium, can be observed frequently. Additionally, the appearance of cooperation in the prisoner’s dilemma can be seen in numerous simulation studies. This paper reviews 31 simulation studies published between January 2017 and January 2023 in which agents can be observed in the results to improve cooperation in a prisoner’s dilemma. The proposed methodologies were sorted into seven categories, including Bounded Rationality, Memory, Adaptive Strategy, Mood Model, Intrinsic Reward, Network Dynamics, and Altruistic Attribute. Based on their impacts, the effectiveness of these seven approaches was classified into three categories: generating cooperation, maintaining cooperation, and spreading cooperation. This review is expected to be helpful for scholars conducting future research on multi-agent cooperation and irrational agent modeling.