Zero-sum bias 🅾
🧠 Psych - 44 / 100
Hey, there.
Today, We will be talking about the Zero-sum Bias🅾.
What is it?
Zero-sum Bias is one of the cognitive bias which describes the mindset which believes that a situation is a matter of win-lose or loss-gain i.e. someone’s loss is someone’s gain.
Example -
People sometimes display the zero-sum bias when it comes to interpersonal relationships.
For example, a child might mistakenly believe that they are in a zero-sum situation when it comes to the love that their parents feel toward them and their siblings, meaning that the love felt toward one child must come at the expense of the love felt toward the others. This is despite the fact that the parents’ love is generally not a limited resource, unlike other resources that parents dedicate to their children, such as time and attention. [1]
Where does it occur?
Zero sum bias can be seen in both the personal as well as professional aspects of one’s life. You can notice in the relationships of yours with people around you.
Also, you can observe them in situations involving negotiations.
Why do I need to know?
This puts you at odds with another person or persons. When you believe that you can only win by way of others losing, you can do only one of two things:
Try to win by way of making others lose
Allow others to win and believe you’ll lose as a result
Either way, you’re buying into a belief that either you’re destined to fail, such as when you’re pitted against someone you love and whom you don’t want to win against, or you’re intentionally putting yourself in conflict with others in an attempt to win.
However, this has a more detrimental side effect: you become combative even when it’s not necessary.
Because of this, you’re more likely to miss out on making key connections, friends, and realizing opportunities because you’re approach is more akin to burning bridges then it is linking up a vast and powerful network (something virtually all successful people have) where you work together to realize joint success. [2]
Takeaways:-
Try to assess the situations thoroughly which you believe are zero-sum biased. Figure out the reasons opted by the end party.
References & Studies:-
https://effectiviology.com/zero-sum-bias/#Examples_of_the_zerosum_bias
https://www.goalcast.com/2018/03/28/what-is-zero-sum-thinking/
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