Week 12: Your Choices Affect Others
Introduction to Interconnected Decisions
Phase 4 begins. Until now, we've focused on YOU as a solo decision-maker. But real life doesn't work that way. Your choices affect others, and theirs affect you. Welcome to Game Theory & Social Systems — where we learn to make decisions inside a web of other people who are ALSO making decisions.
This week we discover ripple effects — how a single decision can cascade outward in ways you didn't expect — and begin thinking about decisions as interactions, not just individual acts.
- This week marks a big shift: from "me" thinking to "us" thinking.
- The Ripple Effect activity works best when you trace consequences at least 3-4 steps out.
- The Cooperation Challenge can be done with siblings, friends, or parent-child. Two people minimum.
- This is a great week to discuss family decisions and how they affect everyone in the household.
Week at a Glance
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Key Vocabulary | ripple effect, second-order effects, interdependence, coordination |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Prep Time | ~10 minutes |
| Guided Session 1 | The Ripple Effect |
| Guided Session 2 | The Cooperation Challenge |
| Independent Practice | Ripple Map Journal + Cooperation Inventory |
Facilitator Preparation
- Prepare paper for drawing ripple maps (large sheets work best)
- Gather materials for the Cooperation Challenge: paper, tape, scissors (one set per team)
- Think of 3-4 family or household decisions to use as examples
- Review the student's Decision Journal — have any entries already mentioned other people being affected?
The goal is NOT to make the student feel guilty about their choices. It's to expand their mental model from "What's best for me?" to "What happens to the whole system when I make this choice?" Sometimes what's best for you IS best for everyone. Sometimes it isn't. The skill is knowing the difference.
For Younger Learners (Ages 8–9)
Simplest version of the concept: "When you make a choice, it doesn't just affect you. It affects the people around you — like a ripple in a pond."
What to shorten or skip:
- Focus on the Ripple Map drawing activity — it's visual, concrete, and the best activity this week.
- For the Cooperation Challenge, the Paper Tower is the most fun and accessible. Skip the Resource Dilemma if time is short.
- Keep sessions to 20 minutes.
Adapting the activities:
- For ripple maps, start with just 2–3 ripples outward instead of 5. Use family examples the learner recognizes (sharing a snack, helping with chores, playing loud music).
- Draw the ripple maps with big circles and simple labels. Drawings count as labels.
Journal alternative: "A choice I made this week that affected someone else was ___. The ripple was ___." Spoken is fine.
What success looks like: The learner can describe how one of their choices affected someone else, tracing at least 2 steps outward.
- Challenge students to map 5+ step ripple chains and identify where effects become unpredictable.
- Introduce the concept of second-order effects: "What happens because of what happened?"
- In the Resource Dilemma, discuss how this scales to real-world problems like shared public spaces.
Guided Session 1
The Ripple Effect
Learning Goal
By the end of this session, the student can:
- trace the consequences of a decision at least 3 steps beyond the immediate effect
- give an example of a positive ripple and a negative ripple
- explain why considering ripple effects leads to better decisions
Activities
1. The Ripple Map
Draw a circle in the middle of a large sheet of paper. Write a decision inside it. Then draw outward ripples (like throwing a stone in a pond).
Example — Negative Ripple:
Center: "I play music really loud at 9pm"
→ Ripple 1: My sibling can't concentrate on homework
→ Ripple 2: Sibling gets frustrated, yells at me
→ Ripple 3: Parent gets involved, everyone argues
→ Ripple 4: Everyone's evening is ruined
→ Ripple 5: Nobody sleeps well, tomorrow is worse
Example — Positive Ripple:
Center: "I help set the table without being asked"
→ Ripple 1: Parent is surprised and grateful
→ Ripple 2: Dinner starts on time, less rush
→ Ripple 3: Conversation is relaxed
→ Ripple 4: Parent says yes to playing a game after dinner
→ Ripple 5: Great family evening
Now the student draws their own ripple maps for:
- "I share my snack with a classmate who forgot theirs"
- "I break a promise to a friend"
- "I clean up after myself in the kitchen"
Discuss: "How far out did the ripples go? Were any of the later effects surprising?"
If the student assigns positive/negative/neutral labels to each ripple, they're doing a qualitative version of expected value analysis from Week 9. For advanced students, you could ask: "If you could assign probabilities and values to each ripple, you'd have an EV calculation for your decision's total impact."
2. The Unexpected Ripple
Sometimes ripple effects are surprising because they go in directions you didn't predict.
Read these stories and trace the ripples:
Story 1: A kid picks up litter in the park. Another kid sees them do it and picks up some too. A parent notices and thanks them. The park stays cleaner that week. More families come to the park because it's nice.
Story 2: A student always saves a seat for their best friend at lunch. A new student has no one to sit with. The new student eats alone for weeks and starts dreading school.
Discuss:
- In Story 1, the original kid probably didn't think about all those ripples. But they happened.
- In Story 2, saving a seat seems harmless, but the ripple for the new student is real.
- "The point isn't to predict EVERY ripple. It's to at least THINK about who else might be affected before you act."
3. The Ripple Question
Add a new tool to the Decision Toolkit:
Before any significant decision, ask: "Who else does this affect, and how?"
Practice with 5 quick scenarios:
- Leaving your bike in the driveway → Who's affected? (Family members driving, anyone walking by)
- Volunteering to help a classmate study → Who's affected? (The classmate, their grades, their confidence)
- Taking the last piece of pizza → Who's affected? (Anyone who also wanted some)
- Telling a funny joke in class → Who's affected? (Classmates' mood, teacher's patience)
- Studying really hard for a test → Who's affected? (You, parents who care about grades, future-you)
Guided Session 2
The Cooperation Challenge
Learning Goal
By the end of this session, the student can:
- experience the difference between cooperative and solo approaches to a shared problem
- explain when cooperation produces better results than individual effort
- identify situations where what's best for one person conflicts with what's best for the group
Activities
1. The Paper Tower Challenge
You need at least 2 players.
Round 1 — Competition:
- Each player gets 5 sheets of paper, 30cm of tape, and scissors.
- Goal: Build the tallest free-standing tower in 5 minutes.
- Each player works alone.
- Measure the tallest tower.
Round 2 — Cooperation:
- Same total materials, but now the team SHARES everything.
- Work together to build ONE tower.
- 5 minutes.
- Measure.
Discuss:
- Which round produced a taller tower? (Usually cooperation wins because of shared ideas and labour.)
- What was different about working together?
- Were there any disagreements? How did you resolve them?
If only one learner + one facilitator: Run the Paper Tower Challenge as a two-person team. Round 1: each person builds alone. Round 2: build together. The comparison still works with just two people.
For the Resource Dilemma: Works with exactly 2 players (learner + facilitator). Play 5 rounds and discuss the same questions.
If truly solo: Replace the hands-on cooperation game with a thought experiment: "Imagine 4 kids sharing 10 stickers. Each writes down secretly how many they want. If the total is over 10, nobody gets any. What would you write? What would happen if everyone thought like you?"
2. The Resource Dilemma
A simpler version that works with just 2 people:
Setup:
- There are 10 stickers (or tokens) on the table.
- Each player secretly writes down how many they want to take (0-10).
- If the total requested is ≤ 10, everyone gets what they asked for.
- If the total exceeds 10, NOBODY gets anything.
Play 5 rounds:
| Round | What Happened? | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 5 |
Discuss:
- Did you start greedy or cautious?
- What happened when someone asked for too much?
- Did you learn to coordinate over the rounds?
- What strategy works best if you're playing many rounds?
Key insight: "When your choices affect other people's outcomes, the 'best move for me' might collapse if everyone else is also trying to maximise for themselves."
3. When Interests Align (and When They Don't)
Sort these situations:
| Interests Mostly Align | Interests Conflict |
|---|---|
| Studying together for a test | Competing for the last spot on a team |
| Cleaning the house together | Deciding who does the worst chore |
| Brainstorming ideas for a project | Splitting a limited number of treats |
| Playing a cooperative board game | Playing a competitive board game |
Discuss: "In the 'align' column, cooperation is easy and natural. In the 'conflict' column, you need NEGOTIATION — a way to find a solution that works well enough for everyone. That's what the next two weeks are about."
Independent Practice
Goal
Practice seeing the interconnected nature of daily decisions.
Activities
The Paper Tower Challenge and Resource Dilemma from the guided sessions require partners — keep this in mind if revisiting those activities independently.
1. Ripple Map Journal
Pick 3 decisions you made this week. For each one, draw a quick ripple map:
- Your decision in the centre
- At least 3 ripples outward
- Mark each ripple as positive (➕), negative (➖), or neutral (➡️)
Minimum viable version (younger learners): Draw ONE ripple map for one choice you made today. Use simple pictures or faces (😊/😟) instead of words. Tell a grown-up about the ripples.
2. The Cooperation Inventory
List 5 situations this week where you had to coordinate with someone else (sharing a bathroom, deciding what to watch, choosing a game with friends, etc.).
For each one:
- Did your interests align or conflict?
- How did you resolve it?
- Was the outcome fair?
Decision Journal
Write about a decision where what was best for you was different from what was best for someone else. What did you do? Looking back, would you do the same thing? What would have happened if you'd made the other choice?
Reflection Questions
- Is it possible to always make choices that are good for you AND good for everyone else?
- When your interests conflict with someone else's, how do you decide what to do?
- Can you think of a time when someone else's decision rippled into YOUR life in a way they probably didn't expect?
Quick Mastery Check
After this week, check whether the learner can:
- Trace a ripple: "You leave your toys all over the living room. What are two ripple effects?" (Looking for: someone trips, parent gets frustrated, room feels messy, nobody wants to hang out there, etc.)
- Identify a positive ripple: "You help your sibling with their homework. What might happen next?" (Looking for: any chain of positive consequences — sibling is happier, less fighting, parent is pleased, etc.)
- Ask the ripple question: "Before making a choice, what question should you ask?" (Looking for: "Who else does this affect?" or "What ripples will this create?")
If the learner can trace ripples at least 2 steps out, they're ready for Week 13.
Pause and Notice
After the Ripple Map or Cooperation Challenge, ask:
"When you saw how your choices ripple out to other people, did it feel heavy — like a lot of responsibility? Or did it feel powerful — like you can make things better?"
"Sometimes we do things without thinking about the ripple because we're focused on our own feelings in the moment — being tired, annoyed, excited, or shy. Pausing to ask 'who else does this touch?' doesn't mean ignoring your own needs. It means making a choice that accounts for the bigger picture."
This week's takeaway: Your choices don't happen in a vacuum. Noticing the ripple isn't about guilt — it's about making choices you're proud of when you look at the full picture.
Spiral Review
- From Week 9: "Expected value calculation can include ripple effects. If your choice makes you +3 but costs someone else -5, the total EV might be negative."
- From Week 11: "Is the ripple reversible? If you take the last slice of pizza, your sibling misses out — but it's a two-way door (you can share next time). If you say something cruel, the ripple is much harder to undo."
- From Week 7: "Are you creating ripples because of sunk cost? ('I already started this argument, so I have to win it!') Sometimes the best ripple is the one you DON'T create — by walking away."