zero-sum game

in game theory, a type of game in which the players’ gains and losses add up to zero. The total amount of resources available to the participants is fixed, and therefore one player’s gain necessarily entails the others’ loss. The term is used particularly in analyses of bargaining and economic behavior but is sometimes also used in other sociocultural contexts (e.g., politics). Compare non-zero-sum game.

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Psychology term of the day

October 10th 2024

theory theory

a model of cognitive development that combines neonativism and constructivism, proposing that cognitive development occurs as children generate, test, and change theories about the physical and social world.