Loss aversion has been widely investigated as a factor influencing decision-making and conflict. I proposed that conflicts in groups are most likely to occur when maximizing ingroup benefit...Show moreLoss aversion has been widely investigated as a factor influencing decision-making and conflict. I proposed that conflicts in groups are most likely to occur when maximizing ingroup benefit involves harming the outgroup and both parties believe they would suffer losses if they did not compete, losses that loom larger than equivalent gains due to loss aversion. This study examined whether high levels of loss aversion are indeed a potential drive for intergroup conflict. Participants consisted of 126 individuals. The study operationalized the Intergroup Prisoner’s Dilemma—Maximizing Difference (IPD-MD) game, which investigates the motivational processes that lead to intergroup conflict. There were two main hypotheses in the present study: first, even though people avoid benefiting the ingroup while deliberately harming the outgroup, I hypothesized that they will do so when it is more efficient for their group, and, second, that high scores in loss aversion will be associated with more investments in the between-group pool (intergroup conflict). The findings strongly supported my first hypothesis, as, indeed, participants decided to invest more in the between-group pool compared to the within-group pool when the former was more efficient. The results for the second hypothesis did not reach significance in our sample. Nonetheless, future research is encouraged with a larger sample size and with added moderators to the model, such as age.Show less