MENTAL MODEL · M2907

Egocentric Bias

BehaviorHigh supportSocial Psychology

Included

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-31

CORE DEFINITION

Refers to the tendency in cooperation to overestimate one's own contribution to the output (everyone feels they did 70% of the work), because we can only experience our own hard work and find it difficult to perceive others' efforts.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Resolve team resentment. When you feel 'teammates aren't pulling their weight,' discount it. Being aware of this perceptual bias allows us to maintain a more objective evaluation and appreciation of others' contributions.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Egocentric bias stems from differences in information accessibility: we have first-hand, continuous perception of our own input, effort, and thought processes, while others' contributions can only be inferred indirectly through external behavior, leading to systematic underestimation. Additionally, memory encodes 'what I did' more deeply, further amplifying the bias in attribution of contributions. This is a manifestation of the 'availability heuristic' in social cognition.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

Before collaborative retrospectives, have each person independently write down their percentage contribution to the outcome.
After summing, note that the total often exceeds 100%, and use this to openly discuss perceptual differences.
Actively ask about and listen to what teammates did that you didn't see.
When allocating rewards or evaluating performance, rely on objective output records rather than subjective feelings.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

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Source support: Explicit

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en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egocentric_biasZH · Explicit
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