Social Traps
Definition
Social traps refer to situations in which individuals or groups pursue immediate benefits that later result in negative consequences for the group as a whole.
Analogy
Think of social traps like overfishing. If every fisherman takes as many fish as they can right now, there will be an immediate benefit (lots of fish to sell). But if everyone does this, soon there won't be any fish left for anyone. The short-term gain leads to long-term loss.
Related terms
Tragedy of the Commons: This is a situation where individuals acting independently and rationally according to each's self-interest behave contrary to the best interests of the whole by depleting some common resource.
Zero-sum game: A situation in which one person's gain is equivalent to another's loss, so the net change in wealth or benefit is zero.
Groupthink: This is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people, in which the desire for harmony or conformity results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.
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