In
fair division
Fair division is the problem in game theory of dividing a set of resources among several people who have an entitlement to them so that each person receives their due share. That problem arises in various real-world settings such as division of inh ...
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, such as a cake, between two parties. It involves a heterogeneous good or resource ("the cake") and two partners who have diffe ...
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 examine and explain social behavior in terms of evolution. It draws from disciplines including psychology, ethology, anthropology, evolution, zoology, archaeology, and population genetics. Within ...
, 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 the evolutionary strategy that favours the reproductive success of an organism's relatives, even when at a cost to the organism's own survival and reproduction. Kin altruism can look like altruistic behaviour whose evolution ...
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
Within the field of social evolution, Hamiltonian spite is a term for spiteful behaviours occurring among conspecifics that have a cost for the actor and a negative impact upon the recipient.
Theories on altruism and spitefulness
W. D. Hamilt ...
). Negative relatedness occurs when two individuals are less related than average.
In game theory
The
iterated prisoner's dilemma
The Prisoner's Dilemma is an example of a game analyzed in game theory. It is also a thought experiment that challenges two completely rational agents to a dilemma: cooperate with their partner for mutual reward, or betray their partner ("defe ...
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
Tit for tat is an English saying meaning "equivalent retaliation". It developed from "tip for tap", first recorded in 1558.
It is also a highly effective strategy in game theory. An intelligent agent, agent using this strategy will first coope ...
" 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 (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
decides to call a
strike, both employer and the union members lose money (and may damage the national
economy
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...
). 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
An appeal to spite (Latin: ''argumentum ad odium'') is a form of argumentation which attempts to win favor by exploiting feelings of bitterness, spite, or schadenfreude in the audience. Logically fallacious, it attempts to sway the audience emo ...
*
Hamilton's rule
*
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