Punishment or Pettiness? The Game Theory Behind Spite with Rory Smead

In this episode, our guest Rory Smead shares insights on spite and what game theory can teach us about this puzzling behaviour. He explains why people sometimes punish others even at a cost to themselves, and whether this can be understood through more than just fairness. Using the ultimatum game as a central example, he discusses how spite can influence decision-making and what this reveals about both human and animal behaviour. Rory Smead is Professor of Philosophy and the Ronald L. and Linda A. Rossetti Professor for the Humanities at Northeastern University. His research focuses on philosophy of science, philosophy of biology, logic, and game theory, with a particular interest in understanding social behaviour through formal models.

You can listen to Punishment or Pettiness? The Game Theory Behind Spite with Rory Smead online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Punishment or Pettiness? The Game Theory Behind Spite with Rory Smead is an episode from Game Changer - the game theory podcast by TWS Partners.

This episode is 25:36 long.

This episode was published on May 19, 2025.

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