Game theory, Psychology, and Panic Buying...Everything

I'll cut right to it: everyone has already experienced, or at least heard of, the panic buying happening at supermarkets in our current situation. I thought it would be interesting to talk about the game theory behind it and tie it to other similar things.

The approach in game theory is to think about how economic gains are caused not only by our actions, but others around us. Like in chess, you develop your strategy as the game progresses and with each move your opponent makes. Similarly, being socially responsible is also dependent on how others act around us. But that can either shift towards hoarding (if other people are), or having everyone being on the same page and being responsible.

Social Psychology research says there are 2 main things that fuel selfish behavior: greed and fear. Greed is more easily taken care of, but fear is where the game theory comes in. There are those who feel the need to be socially responsible, but they are afraid that they would receive the short end of the stick if others aren't: a sucker's payoff. This also transcends into other issues like a few years ago when we had a drought. Yes you can save water and take 1 minute showers, but what if other people don't and you're using less water just so others can use more?

As you continue this train of thought, it becomes less of a rational/economic science and more of a "what would you do"/philosophical question. Are people willing to cooperate and be socially responsible? Or will the sucker's payoff always exist in the back of our minds, fueling the need to be selfish?


Source:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167293194007