You Are Not So Smart

035 - Inbetweenisode - The Sunk Cost Fallacy

Nov 2, 2014
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INSIGHT

Loss Aversion Is Deeply Rooted

  • Humans overweight losses compared to gains because evolution made avoiding threats more urgent than seeking rewards.
  • Loss aversion makes people require roughly double the potential payoff to accept equivalent risk.
INSIGHT

Free Changes How We Decide

  • The "pain of paying" makes people treat free items differently and alters choices even when math is unchanged.
  • Small price cues can inactive loss aversion and radically change behavior.
ANECDOTE

Choosing The Costlier Ski Trip

  • Participants who'd bought two overlapping ski trips usually chose the more expensive one despite a better cheaper option.
  • They preferred avoiding the feeling of wasting the first $100 over maximizing future enjoyment.
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