Zero-Sum Bias / 零和偏误
Zero-sum bias is the assumption that anything the other side wants must make one’s own side worse off. 106.别再害怕冲突，快来学习谈判术！ treats it as one of the major psychological causes of bad negotiation because it makes parties focus on fixed-pie division rather than value creation.
The episode contrasts land division with commercial exchange: when parties value resources differently, trade can enlarge the total benefit. It also uses the NHL labor dispute to show how zero-sum framing can turn a salary-cap negotiation into a destructive fight.
Key Claims
- Zero-sum thinking hides cases where the parties have different priorities or costs.
- It can produce reactive devaluation, where a concession is treated as less valuable because it came from the other side.
- Multi-Issue Negotiation / 多议题谈判 is a practical antidote because it reveals tradeable differences.
- In labor conflict, zero-sum framing can combine with loss framing and Escalation Of Commitment / 非理性投入升级.
Connections
- Negotiation As Bargaining / 谈判即商量, Multi-Issue Negotiation / 多议题谈判, and Interest-Based Negotiation / 利益导向谈判 - methods that counter zero-sum bias.
- National Hockey League / NHL and NHL Players’ Association / NHLPA - source case.
- Sports Collective Bargaining and Game Theory - adjacent strategic-conflict frames.