Evolutionary game theory: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Evolutionary Game Theory (EGT) studies the dynamics and equilibriums of games played by populations of players. The strategies players employ in the games determine their interdependent payoff or fitness. In contrast with the traditional applications of game theory, the players do not act rationally when choosing their strategies, but act instead according to a preprogrammed behavior pattern. A pure strategy is encoded in an individual's genome, which can evolve over time while repeatedly playing a game against other players in a population.

The common methodology to study the evolutionary dynamics in games is through replicator equations. Replicator equations assume infinite populations, continuous time, complete mixing and that strategies breed true. The attractors (stable fixed points) of the equations are equivalent with evolutionarily stable strategies.

References

• Maynard Smith, J. (1981) Evolution and the Theory of Games.
• Weibull, J. W. (1995) Evolutionary game theory, MIT Press
• Hofbauer, J. and Sigmund, K. (1998) Evolutionary games and population dynamics, Cambridge University Press