Economists generally agree that voluntary exchanges between buyers and sellers are win-win transactions, benefiting both parties. This is because buyers would not buy unless they value the good or service more than its price, and sellers would not sell unless they value it less. Yet people often deny the mutual benefit of voluntary exchange, believing instead that many such exchanges are zero-sum, win-lose transactions, in which the seller gains at the buyer’s expense. Johnson, Zhang, and Keil (2018) present experimental evidence that zero-sum thinking may arise in part due to intuitive beliefs that money has value over-and-above what it can purchase (hence, the seller gains more than the buyer), as well as a failure to consider the buyer’s perspective, especially their reasons for buying (hence, devaluing the purchase).
- Summary of Psychological Underpinnings of Zero-Sum Thinking by Samuel Johnson, Jiewen Zhang, and Frank Keil, 2018
An intuition can be both right and wrong. Buyers and sellers may very well feel they got more than what they gave in a given transaction. But the value of something is not fixed at the moment of exchange. Goods tend to lose value with use and time. Services may disappoint or be forgotten. Buying is subject to impulse and regret. To buy one thing is to have less money for something else. To buy now is to have fewer options later. To have money is to keep your options open. Money holds the promise of future satisfaction. Purchases hold the promise of fading excitement. So at least in some contexts, money may be worth more than what you can buy with it. Which doesn’t mean the economists are wrong. Only that intuitions sometimes speak to truths that economists don’t care much about.
Reference:
Johnson, S. G. B., Zhang, J., & Keil, F. C. (2018). Psychological Underpinnings of Zero-Sum Thinking In Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 566-571). (Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society). Curran Associates, Inc.
Reference:
Johnson, S. G. B., Zhang, J., & Keil, F. C. (2018). Psychological Underpinnings of Zero-Sum Thinking In Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 566-571). (Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society). Curran Associates, Inc.