Concession Game
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
In a concession game both parties prefer agreement to no agreement, yet each wants the other to give more ground, and time pressure makes delay increasingly expensive for both. The party with the higher discount rate, the one who needs the deal sooner, bears the greater cost of waiting and therefore concedes more. The game is decided by patience and by the credible display of patience, which is why a negotiator who can show indifference to timing holds the stronger position.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Time the pressure: estimate which side bears the higher cost of delay. - Signal patience: credibly display that you can walk away and wait. - Trade small for large: give incremental concessions only in exchange for bigger ones from the other side.
Anchor fast decisions
Every day without agreement destroys value for both sides, but the destruction is not symmetric, because each side discounts the future at a different rate. The side with the higher discount rate feels the cost sooner and is willing to pay more to end it, so its bargaining position erodes with time. Patience functions as bargaining power because a patient negotiator's cost of continuing is lower, which makes each of its concessions more expensive for the opponent to obtain.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_attrition_(gameverified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS