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Glite Dictionary
theory of games

theory of games

6.8
Study of how people choose actions when each choice affects others
  • noun
  • /ˈθiəri əv ɡeɪmz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : teoría de juegos
  • In the theory of games, players make decisions based on the possible actions of their opponents.

Again, there is a theory of games.

Examples

  • The theory of games helps economists predict how people will act in competitive situations.

  • And he said the problem with the theory of games is it doesn't have a theory about how you change the the rules of the game.

  • Purely instrumental choice, unhindered either by emotional or ideological blocks on the one hand, or by ignorance on the other, exists only in the abstract theory of games.

    Academic text (1990)

  • John von Neumann developed the theory of games to analyze strategic interactions in economics.

Synonyms

game theory
vstheory of games
  • Specialized
7 5.6

Study of how people choose actions when they compete or cooperate

has identical meaning but differs only in the expression word order

Surface Forms

theory of games singular
theories of games plural

Morphology

theory + of + game

The construction 'theory of X' is a productive, compositional pattern: combining 'theory' (set of ideas) with 'games' yields 'a set of ideas about games', so a B1 learner who knows the parts can infer it is a theory concerning games or competitive interactions. While the precise technical sense (strategic interactions in economics/mathematics) is specialized, the basic meaning is transparently derivable from the constituents and cross-linguistically common.

Etymology

Theory of games comes from treating real-life choices like games: imagine people at a table making moves, where each person's result depends on the others' moves. So it now means 'a study of strategy where everyone's choices affect the outcome'.