Elaine goes out with a salesman who offers her a discount on a dress. He wants sex, but would prefer for her not to take advantage of the discount—he’s dangling it in front of her as an incentive. She wants the discount, but would prefer not to have to sleep with him for it—she’d dangling it in front of him as an incentive. Both stall the other….and achieve a suboptimal social outcome. Kramer says “you need to establish trust before you can have a free exchange of sex…and discounts, the cornerstones of a healthy relationship.”
Concepts: game theory reputation effects
Source: Seinfeld
Season: 7
Disc: 4
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