In game theory, behavioural ecology, and evolutionary psychology, an evolutionarily stable strategy (ESS) is a strategy which, if adopted by a population of players in a given environment, cannot be invaded by any alternative strategy that is initially rare. An ESS is an equilibrium refinement of the Nash equilibrium. It is a Nash equilibrium that is "evolutionarily" stable: once it is fixed in a population, natural selection alone is sufficient to prevent alternative (mutant) strategies from invading successfully. The theory is not intended to deal with the possibility of gross external changes to the environment that bring new selective forces to bear.
First developed in 1973, the ESS is widely used in behavioural ecology and economics, and has been used in anthropology, evolutionary psychology, philosophy, and political science.
Read more about Evolutionarily Stable Strategy: History, Motivation, Nash Equilibria and ESS, ESS Vs. Evolutionarily Stable State, Prisoner's Dilemma and ESS, ESS and Human Behavior
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