Collective strategies with a master-slave mechanism dominate in spatial-iterated prisoner’s dilemma

How cooperation emerges and persists in a population of selfish agents is a fundamental question in evolutionary game theory. The research shows that collective strategies with master-slave mechanism (CSMSM) defeat tit-for-tat and other well-known strategies in spatial iterated prisoner’s dilemma. A CSMSM identifies kin members by means of a handshaking mechanism. If the opponent is identified as non-kin, a CSMSM will always defect. Once two CSMSMs meet, they play master and slave roles. A mater defects and a slave cooperates in order to maximize the master’s payoff. CSMSM outperforms non-collective strategies in spatial IPD even if there is only a small cluster of CSMSMs in the population. The existence and performance of CSMSM in spatial iterated prisoner’s dilemma suggests that cooperation first appears and persists in a group of collective agents.