In a time of income inequality and ruthless politics, people with outsized power or an unrelenting willingness to browbeat others often seem to come out ahead.
New research from Dartmouth, however, shows that being uncooperative can help people on the weaker side of the power dynamic achieve a more equal outcome—and even inflict some loss on their abusive counterpart.
"Unbending players who choose not to be extorted can resist by refusing to fully cooperate. They also give up part of their own payoff, but the extortioner loses even more," said Chen, who is now an assistant professor at the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.
"Our work shows that when an extortioner is faced with an unbending player, their best response is to offer a fair split, thereby guaranteeing an equal payoff for both parties," she said. "In other words, fairness and cooperation can be cultivated and enforced by unbending players."
The same tactic is recommended when dealing with narcissists - ‘going grey’ and not offering anything. I will be adding this to my toolkit as I seek to resist ‘extortionists’ who seek more than their fair share.
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