As with other kinds of social comparison, ambiguity allows us to set up the comparison in ways that favor ourselves, and then to seek evidence that shows we are excellent co-operators. Studies of such “unconscious overclaiming” show that when husbands and wives estimate the percentage of housework each does, their estimates total more than 120 percent.21 When MBA students in a work group make estimates of their contributions to the team, the estimates total 139 percent.22 Whenever people form cooperative groups, which are usually of mutual benefit, self-serving biases threaten to fill group
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