Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M1286

Sayre's Law

Sayre's Law
BehaviorHigh supportSocial Psychology
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

"In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the issues at stake."

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Identify meaningless involution. Why is the infighting in academia or small departments the most vicious? Because there is little real interest to divide, and what people compete for is only vanity and face. The greater the interests, the more rational the transactions.

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Anchor fast decisions

The intensity of dispute emotions is inversely proportional to the objective value of the issues; because the stakes are too small and there is no real interest to divide, the competition degenerates into vanity and face, so the infighting is the most vicious.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayre%27s_lawZH · Explicit
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