IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jmathe/v13y2025i2p184-d1562566.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Manipulation Game Considering No-Regret Strategies

Author

Listed:
  • Julio B. Clempner

    (Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City 07320, Mexico)

Abstract

This paper examines manipulation games through the lens of Machiavellianism, a psychological theory. It analyzes manipulation dynamics using principles like hierarchical perspectives, exploitation tactics, and the absence of conventional morals to interpret interpersonal interactions. Manipulators intersperse unethical behavior within their typical conduct, deploying deceptive tactics before resuming a baseline demeanor. The proposed solution leverages Lyapunov theory to establish and maintain Stackelberg equilibria. A Lyapunov-like function supports each asymptotically stable equilibrium, ensuring convergence to a Nash/Lyapunov equilibrium if it exists, inherently favoring no-regret strategies. The existence of an optimal solution is demonstrated via the Weierstrass theorem. The game is modeled as a three-level Stackelberg framework based on Markov chains. At the highest level, manipulators devise strategies that may not sway middle-level manipulated players, who counter with best-reply strategies mirroring the manipulators’ moves. Lower-level manipulators adjust their strategies in response to the manipulated players to sustain the manipulation process. This integration of stability analysis and strategic decision-making provides a robust framework for understanding and addressing manipulation in interpersonal contexts. A numerical example focusing on the oil market and its regulations highlights the findings of this work.

Suggested Citation

  • Julio B. Clempner, 2025. "Manipulation Game Considering No-Regret Strategies," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-18, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jmathe:v:13:y:2025:i:2:p:184-:d:1562566
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/13/2/184/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/13/2/184/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jmathe:v:13:y:2025:i:2:p:184-:d:1562566. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.