As any sports fan will admit, supporting your team is agony. Not only must all but one side lose in any competition, but humans seem hard-wired to feel the pain of a loss more keenly than the pleasure of a win. This phenomenon is called "loss aversion" and crops up in many areas of life. Most people would rather forgo the chance of winning $1.10 than risk losing $1. Even capuchin monkeys, it is said, show loss aversion. A new study by Sergio Pinto of the University of Maryland and others finds it in American politics, too.
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