No, it isn't that way. It mostly ends up as a consequence of initially over-estimating the competitor. So your mind looks for their tiniest shortcomings to make

No, it isn't that way. It mostly ends up as a consequence of initially over-estimating the competitor. So your mind looks for their tiniest shortcomings to make sure that they do things wrong too. Once it finds such a thing, subconsciously the mind registers the competitor as weaker than they actually are, to redeem your mind from the uncomfortable prick of a all-powerful competitor. It doesn't happen for everyone though. It takes a bit of rationality to overcome such conclusions. I personally know people who'd read and stress negative reviews of their competitors' products, and eventually conclude that their competitors are not really thoughtful in their decision making. TL;DR - Yes.