If research participants were informed that their error rate on a task was 5pc, compared with an unseen other person’s score of 2pc, they rated their own performance more poorly than if they were told their success rate was 95pc and the other person’s was 98pc — even though the two statements convey exactly the same information. That’s because the difference between 5 and 2 looms much larger in people’s minds than the difference between 95 and 98.

(Source: Journal of Management)

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, March 2nd , 2015

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