The prisoner's dilemma is a paradox in decision analysis in which two individuals acting in their own self-interests do not produce the optimal outcome.

A prime example of game theory, the prisoner's dilemma was developed in 1950 by RAND Corporation mathematicians Merrill Flood and Melvin Dresher during the Cold War (but later given its name by the game theorist Alvin Tucker). Some have speculated that the prisoner's dilemma was crafted to simulate strategic thinking between the U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. during the Cold War.