G

A game-theoretic framework considers “Others” as agents with intentions and strategies similar to oneself. The participants are treated as equals in their ability to think of the best strategy. Game theory models then ask what the optimal strategy for a participant might be. In addition, Others are never entirely predictable. This presents a challenge fundamentally different from the one-person game, which involves one-way interaction with a passive physical environment. In social relations, predictions do not enjoy the same certainty as in the physical world. This is the realm where intentions and ongoing revisions of probabilities are required. The nature of uncertainty involved in this situation is not just one of measurement errors, but of guessing intentions, and of predicting behaviours in Others. Others could be competitors who act deliberately in an unpredictable manner. Most delusions involve contents that are social in nature. Errors in representing Others are prominent in delusional states.

 

博弈理論視「他者」為主體意識，與我們一樣擁有意向和懂得運用策略。每一個博弈參與者都被視為平等，他們擁有思考能力，能夠選取最佳策略。博弈理論關心的是：對於這個參與者，什麼是他/她的最佳策略？他者是不可全然預測的，這與單人博奕不同，單人博奕只是單向、被動地與物理環境互動；但在博弈領域，我們需要不斷更新對他者意向和行為的評估和預測。他者可以是競爭者，他者會刻意建立不能預測的互動方式。大部分妄想涉及社交性質，妄想通常涉及錯誤表徵他者。

In human groups, complex social information is a valued currency. Information is also used to define groups and to defend against deception. There are tensions between the information which enhance agreement in a local group, and the information which align a local group with a broader range of groups. The openness to a broader range of widely accepted "reality" is an important function. Without reference to a broader “reality”, excessive alignment exclusively in the interest of local agreements may lead to unchecked distortions within a smaller group. As a result, there is a need for some “fidelity” to a broader “reality” in a larger group, to counter-balance the self-perpetuating tendency to agree within a smaller group. Failure in this process lead to “group think” . The social nature of the human brain enables an appreciation of why distorted social representation is a frequent-encountered contently in psychopathology.

 

在人類群組，複雜的社交資訊有如流通貨幣，很有價值。資訊會用作定義群組，並提防人們欺騙。一些共同資訊，可以聯繫群組；但小群組與大群組，在資訊共識上往往產生張力。所以，對大群組接納的「現實」保持開放態度很重要。不參考大群組接納的「現實」，過分跟從小組的利益和共識，會形成扭曲現象。所以，對大群組的「現實」，保持某程度的「忠誠」，可以抗衡小組「同溫層」不斷延續的特性。失去這種平衡，往往導致「集體思維」。