&quot;I&#x27;m thinking this won&#x27;t apply very well to situations where everyone has a positive expected return. Like most real-world organizations, companies, etc.&quot;<p>Don&#x27;t understand your point. In the experiment, the low ranked persons get a positive return.<p>It&#x27;s just that, the return, it&#x27;s determined, not by the investment in the cooperation phase, but by the position in the hierarchy.<p>How that doesn&#x27;t apply?