I suspect the feeling that things are unfair and I deserve more is just a signal for me to take stuff from others, in the same way hunger is a signal for me to eat stuff.
Not at all surprising and something I consider incredibly obvious, but on second thought it might not seem obvious at all.
Generally I become much more willing to defect against others when I think things are “unfair”, especially if I perceive those around me as being “unfair” towards me. Does anyone recall any studies that might be related to this?
Sure — see Press and Dyson on extortionate strategies. Extortionate strategies put the opponent in a position where they will always be better off if they cooperate, even in the face of the extortionist defecting — by disproportionately punishing defection while opportunistically defecting themselves.
To me this seems like a natural analogy for certain forms of social unfairness. For instance, a woman in a patriarchal regime may be individually better off if she cooperates with men who treat her as an inferior, because they will disproportionately avenge any defection she might offer. However, the strategy that she implements may be better off if its members defect en masse by reliably punishing male defection in a Tit-For-Tat manner, thus driving the extortionate male strategy to extinction over many generations; albeit at individual sacrifice.
Not at all surprising and something I consider incredibly obvious, but on second thought it might not seem obvious at all.
Generally I become much more willing to defect against others when I think things are “unfair”, especially if I perceive those around me as being “unfair” towards me. Does anyone recall any studies that might be related to this?
Sure — see Press and Dyson on extortionate strategies. Extortionate strategies put the opponent in a position where they will always be better off if they cooperate, even in the face of the extortionist defecting — by disproportionately punishing defection while opportunistically defecting themselves.
To me this seems like a natural analogy for certain forms of social unfairness. For instance, a woman in a patriarchal regime may be individually better off if she cooperates with men who treat her as an inferior, because they will disproportionately avenge any defection she might offer. However, the strategy that she implements may be better off if its members defect en masse by reliably punishing male defection in a Tit-For-Tat manner, thus driving the extortionate male strategy to extinction over many generations; albeit at individual sacrifice.