In
fair division
Fair division is the problem in game theory of dividing a set of resources among several people who have an Entitlement (fair division), entitlement to them so that each person receives their due share. The central tenet of fair division is that ...
problems, spite is a phenomenon that occurs when a player's value of an allocation decreases when one or more other players' valuation increases. Thus, other things being equal, a player exhibiting spite will prefer an allocation in which other players receive less than more (if more of the good is desirable).
In this language, spite is difficult to analyze because one has to assess two sets of preferences. For example, in the
divide and choose
Divide and choose (also cut and choose or I cut, you choose) is a procedure for fair division of a continuous resource between two parties. It involves a heterogeneous good or resource and two partners who have different preferences over parts of ...
method, a spiteful player would have to make a trade-off between depriving his opponent of cake, and getting more himself.
Within the field of
sociobiology
Sociobiology is a field of biology that aims to explain social behavior in terms of evolution. It draws from disciplines including psychology, ethology, anthropology, evolution, zoology, archaeology, and population genetics. Within the study of ...
, spite is used to describe those social behaviors that have a negative impact on both the actor and recipient(s). Spite can be favored by
kin selection
Kin selection is a process whereby natural selection favours a trait due to its positive effects on the reproductive success of an organism's relatives, even when at a cost to the organism's own survival and reproduction. Kin selection can lead ...
when: (a) it leads to an indirect benefit to some third party that is sufficiently related to the actor (Wilsonian spite); or (b) when it is directed primarily at negatively related individuals (
Hamiltonian spite). Negative relatedness occurs when two individuals are less related than average.
In game theory
The
iterated prisoner's dilemma provides an example where players may "punish" each other for failing to cooperate in previous rounds, even if doing so would cause negative consequences for both players. For example, the simple "
tit for tat" strategy has been shown to be effective in round-robin tournaments of iterated prisoner's dilemma.
In industrial relations
There is always difficulty in fairly dividing the proceeds of a business between the business owners and the employees.
When a
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
decides to call a
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
* Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
* Airstrike, ...
, both employer and the union members lose money (and may damage the national
economy
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
). The unionists hope that the employer will give in to their demands before such losses have destroyed the business.
In the reverse direction, an employer may
terminate the employment of certain productive workers who are agitating for higher wages or
organising a trade union. Losing productive workers is a setback to both the business and the employees but this can serve as an example to others and thus maximise employer power.
In behavioral ecology
Polyembryonic wasps, including ''C. floridanum'', exhibit spite through instances of precocious larval development.
Spite provides an explanation for how natural selection can favor harmful behaviors that are costly to both the actor and the recipient;
spite is typically considered a form of altruism that benefits a secondary recipient. Two criteria demonstrate that spite is truly occurring: (i) the behavior is truly costly to the actor and does not provide a long-term direct benefit; and (ii) harming behaviors are directed toward relatively unrelated individuals.
[{{cite book, last=Davies, first=Nicholas B. , author2=John R. Krebs , author3=Stuart A. West, title=An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology, publisher=Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, year=1981, pages=308–333; 360–393]
See also
*
Appeal to spite
*
Hamilton's rule
Kin selection is a process whereby natural selection favours a trait due to its positive effects on the reproductive success of an organism's relatives, even when at a cost to the organism's own survival and reproduction. Kin selection can lead ...
*
Spite (sentiment)
Spite or spitefulness as a sentiment, action, or a personality trait has several possible meanings. According to the American Psychological Association there is "no standard definition of spitefulness. Spite can be broadly defined to include any vi ...
References
*Foster, K.R., Wenseleers, T. & Ratnieks, F.L.W. (2001) Spite: Hamilton's unproven theory. ''Annales Zoologici Fennici'', p. 38,229-238
*Gardner, A. & West, S.A. (2006) Spite. ''Current Biology'', p. 16, R662-R66
Fair division
Game theory