Los-er (löö-zer), n. 1. a person (see photo), team, nation, etc., that loses: The visiting team was the loser in three out of four games in the series. 2. Informal. a. a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanour or, esp.. a felony: a two-time loser. b. a person who has failed at an activity as a business or social endeavour, career, etc.: He's a three-time loser at marriage. 3.Slang. someone or something that is marked by consistently bad quality, performance, result etc.
Prospect Theory: suppose you have been given $1,000 and must choose between a sure gain of another $500 or, alternatively, a 50-per-cent chance to gain $1,000 and a 50-per-cent chance to gain nothing.Alternatively, you are presented with a different scenario: you are given $2,000 and must choose between a sure loss of $500 or, alternatively, a 50 per cent chance to lose $1,000 and a 50 per cent chance to lose nothing.
Researchers Tversky and Kahneman found that most members of the first group chose the sure gain of $500. A majority of the second group, however, opted for the gamble between a loss of $1,000 and a loss of nothing. In fact, both situations are identical in terms of the net financial benefit to the subject. The phrasing of the questions — the fact that one is presented in terms of gain and the other in terms of loss is what causes them to be interpreted differently.
The lesson is that people are willing to run greater risks to avoid losses than they are to make gains.
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