[Vaive]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

That's the most ridiculous thing posted in this forum in a long time.

Sure.

https://mindhacks.com/2012/09/19/bbc-column-auction-psychology/

According to researches in behavioral economics, psychological bias called “endowment effect” gives rise to the common overbidding behavior in the ascending auction. It stimulates the bidders to desire for the sale item badly, even with higher bids, by encouraging them to fantasize about possessing the item by bidding. This allows participants to compete against one another to own the spotlighted item, while making irrationally driven decisions for overbidding.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597804000925

In Study 1, live and Internet bidding and survey data from 21 auctions throughout North America tested the model’s predictions, as well as hypotheses derived from rational choice and escalation of commitment models. Analyses provided considerable support for the competitive arousal and escalation models, and no support for rational choice predictions. Study 2 was a laboratory experiment that investigated the similarities and differences between escalation and competitive arousal, finding again that both can result in overbidding. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings and on the broader issue of competitive arousal and escalation and their impact on decision-making.