Examples of the zero-sum bias

• When you are giving a public talk, you assume that your nervousness is more apparent to others than is actually the case.
• You overestimate the amount of work that you contributed to a group project.
• You might believe that your colleagues all share your political beliefs and social values.
• You might remember yourself as having been the key player in a past event, despite the fact that you only played a relatively minor role in it.

It occurs primarily due to the fact that we tend to naturally examine and remember events primarily through our personal point of view.

Even when we realize that we should adjust our perspective to see things through other people’s eyes, we tend to anchor this new perspective to our own, and we often fail to adjust from our original viewpoint enough to properly assess how other people feel.

• The bandwagon effect can influence people’s political choices.
• It can influence consumers’ decisions regarding which products to buy.
• It can influence users’ decisions regarding how to rate stories or comments.
• It can influence investors’ financial choices.
• It can influence doctors’ medical decisions.
• It can influence organizations’ implementation of new technologies.

It serves as a mental shortcut that people instinctively use in order to make a decision quickly.

Specifically, bandwagon cues, which are signs that other people believe something or are doing something, can trigger the thought that “if other people like this, then I should too”.