Sticks and Carrots: Two Incentive Mechanisms Supporting Intra-Group Cooperation

In this note, we introduce two distinct incentive mechanisms that sup-port dynamic intra-group cooperation in the context of prisoner’s dilemma payoffs. The first mechanism involves a reward structure—a carrot—that supports both triadic and tripartite group relations. The second mecha-nism involves a punishment structure—a stick—that supports tripartite group relations. We also discuss how these mechanisms are relevant in real-world groups such as criminal gangs and military platoons