In a classic prisoners' dilemma example, Larry and Duncan, possible criminals, will get one year in prison if neither talks, two years in jail if both talk, and if one talks, that one goes free while the other gets five years. (Note : The payoffs are negative because they represent years in jail, which is a negative payoff.) The payoff matrix for Larry and David is illustrated to the right. Given this payoff matrix and the payoffs, each criminal A. will only confess if the other does. B. has an incentive to confess. C. can not determine their best response. D. does not know the payoffs. E. seeks to maximize joint payoffs.

The correct answer is option B - Given this payoff matrix and the payoffs, each criminal has an incentive to confess.

Explanation:

The prisoner's dilemma demonstrates the tradeoffs between cooperative and non-cooperative behavior.

The two individuals are being held prisoner for the same crime. However, they are in separate cells with no possibilities of communication.

With the payoff's given in the table, the best response of player 1 is to confess whether or not player 2 chooses to cooperate. Confess is also a dominant strategy for player 2 whether or not player 1 chooses to cooperate.

Therefore, the correct answer is option B - Given this payoff matrix and the payoffs, each criminal has an incentive to confess.