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Why I Want to Finish in Third Place

Would you rather finish in second or third place?  Would you rather win a silver medal or a bronze medal?  The right answer seems intuitive.  What's there to think about?  A silver medal is objectively better than winning a bronze medal.  So what chump would want to finish in third place!The answer, surprisingly, is: The chump who wants to be happy.  If you want to be happy, third place is preferable to second place.  The second place winner is consumed at what he missed out on - first place!  The third place winner is consumed with what he almost missed out on - third place!  This idea is explored in, "When Less is More: Counterfactual Thinking and Satisfaction among Olympic Medalists": Research on counterfactual thinking has shown that people's emotional responses to events are influenced by their thoughts about "what might have been...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime & Federalism on February 15, 2009 (boomark / email).