The last cupcake phenomenon

Have you ever noticed how when some batch of cookies or cupcakes or a box of doughnuts is brought into the office to share freely with everyone, there is always one left for a very long time? It’s as though the collective guilt at taking that last cupcake is simply too strong to overcome.

That one last tasty treat may sit there for an hour or two before someone surreptitiously gobbles it up. I wonder if this phenomenon is true in other, perhaps non-foodie areas as well?

On the flip side of this, when there is a plentiful supply of tasty treats people are not shy at all about taking more than their fair share. It’s only when taking it would obviously mean no more for anyone else that this mindset comes into play.