False uniqueness effect

Biological Parallel

Territorial songbirds like robins defend feeding zones by treating their patch as uniquely valuable—despite neighbors holding objectively equivalent territories. This self-serving illusion is adaptive: without inflated valuation, the costs of defense (energy, injury risk) would outweigh benefits. The false uniqueness effect—believing our positive attributes are rarer than they are—descends from this territorial imperative: overestimating your distinctiveness motivates investment in skill development and competitive positioning, just as the robin's illusion motivates defending resources that might otherwise seem interchangeable.