Why Do Most People Want To Be Better Than Everyone Else
The scientists saw how people reacted to hundreds of social dilemmas
Have you ever thought about why you want to be better than others? Do you always hope for the best? Or are you the one who opts for the lesser evil? But you may be the one who wants to help.
If one of the above questions often overwhelms your mind, that might indicate your personality type.
One study¹ used a revolutionary new algorithm to classify the personality types of 541 participants. The research involved Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the universities of Barcelona, Zaragoza, and Rovira I Virgili, Spain.
They presented the participants with hundreds of social dilemmas — the work is related to the Game Theory. The scientists directed the participants to tell what they would do in those situations — collaborate or compete — based on individual or collective interests.
“The participants are asked to play in pairs. These pairs change, not only in each round, but also each time the game changes. So, the best option could be to cooperate or, on the other hand, to oppose or betray ….. In this way, we can obtain information about what people do in very different social situations”, revealed Anxo Sánchez, a professor in GISC — Interdisciplinary Group of Complex Systems — which is part of the Mathematics Department at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
Here are the results of the study:
1. Those who believe they’ll make the best choice
Twenty percent (20%) of people think like this.
They believe that they and their partner will somehow make the best choice. These are the optimists.
2. Those who chose the lesser evil
Twenty percent (20%) of people see everything as evil, but they chose what seems like the lesser evil.
They believe that they can never make the best possible choice as it is never on the table. These are the pessimists.
3. Those who always cooperate
Twenty percent (20%) of people are born to help. They don’t mind if they win or lose.
Always ready to cooperate and collaborate, they trust other people and the process. They believe the choice made together as a group is better than an individual one. These are the trusting ones.
4. Those who want to be better than others
Thirty percent (30%) of people want to be better than others. These are the envious ones. They don’t mind what they do, as long as they’re better than everyone else.
Most people have the envious personality type. Until they are doing better than others, they don’t care how good their choices are.
An example of a dilemma: Two persons can hunt a deer together. But alone, they can only hunt rabbits. The person from the Envious group will choose to hunt rabbits because she will be at least equal to the other hunter, or maybe even better. The Optimist will choose to hunt deer because that is the best option for both hunters. The Pessimist will choose to hunt rabbits because she is sure to catch something. The hunter from the Trusting group will cooperate and opt to go for a deer — without a second thought..
Takeaways
Why do most people want to be better than others? It is a tricky question. But the answer is hidden in our cultural conditioning.
From our childhood, we see a competitive society around us. Literature, art, movies, and news — everything tells us to be the best. Most of us don’t want to be left behind.
The safest way out is to do more or do better.
Here are some of the takeaways for you to implement in your life:
- Avoid preconceived notions.
- Think and act rationally after analyzing a situation as it unfolds.
- Don’t believe the world is too bad or too good. It is mostly neutral.
- Cooperation and collaboration are powerful tools. But a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Try to improve your skills while working in a group.
But even more crucially, the algorithm failed to classify 10% of the people. Their choice making process was more complex than others. These may be the ones who act according to a situation.
However, no algorithm can predict one person’s choices accurately. You are free to learn, improve, and make a different choice.
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