Status quo bias
Encyclopedia
The status quo bias is a cognitive bias
for the status quo
; in other words, people tend not to change an established behavior unless the incentive to change is compelling. It should be distinguished from rational preference for the status quo per se due to, for example, information effects, which cannot explain all experimental results.
The finding has been observed in many fields, including political science
and economics
. Nick Bostrom
argues that status quo bias may play a large role in opposition to human enhancement
.
Kahneman
, Thaler
and Knetsch created experiments that could produce this effect reliably. They attribute it to a combination of loss aversion
and the endowment effect
, two ideas relevant to prospect theory
. The US states of New Jersey
and Pennsylvania
inadvertently ran a real life experiment providing evidence of the status quo bias in the early 1990s. As part of tort law reform programs, citizens were offered two options for their automotive insurance: an expensive option giving them full right to sue
and a less expensive option with restricted rights to sue. In New Jersey the cheaper option was the default and most citizens selected it, while only a minority chose it in Pennsylvania where the more expensive option was the default. Similar effects have been shown for contributions to retirement plans, choice of internet privacy policies and the decision to become an organ donor.
Cognitive bias
A cognitive bias is a pattern of deviation in judgment that occurs in particular situations. Implicit in the concept of a "pattern of deviation" is a standard of comparison; this may be the judgment of people outside those particular situations, or may be a set of independently verifiable...
for the status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
; in other words, people tend not to change an established behavior unless the incentive to change is compelling. It should be distinguished from rational preference for the status quo per se due to, for example, information effects, which cannot explain all experimental results.
The finding has been observed in many fields, including political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. Nick Bostrom
Nick Bostrom
Nick Bostrom is a Swedish philosopher at the University of Oxford known for his work on existential risk and the anthropic principle. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics...
argues that status quo bias may play a large role in opposition to human enhancement
Human enhancement
Human enhancement refers to any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the human body through natural or artificial means...
.
Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman is an Israeli-American psychologist and Nobel laureate. He is notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, behavioral economics and hedonic psychology....
, Thaler
Richard Thaler
Richard H. Thaler is an American economist and the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business...
and Knetsch created experiments that could produce this effect reliably. They attribute it to a combination of loss aversion
Loss aversion
In economics and decision theory, loss aversion refers to people's tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains. Some studies suggest that losses are twice as powerful, psychologically, as gains....
and the endowment effect
Endowment effect
In behavioral economics, the endowment effect is a hypothesis that people value a good or service more once their property right to it has been established. In other words, people place a higher value on objects they own than objects that they do not...
, two ideas relevant to prospect theory
Prospect theory
Prospect theory is a theory that describes decisions between alternatives that involve risk i.e. where the probabilities of outcomes are known. The model is descriptive: it tries to model real-life choices, rather than optimal decisions.-Model:...
. The US states of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
inadvertently ran a real life experiment providing evidence of the status quo bias in the early 1990s. As part of tort law reform programs, citizens were offered two options for their automotive insurance: an expensive option giving them full right to sue
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
and a less expensive option with restricted rights to sue. In New Jersey the cheaper option was the default and most citizens selected it, while only a minority chose it in Pennsylvania where the more expensive option was the default. Similar effects have been shown for contributions to retirement plans, choice of internet privacy policies and the decision to become an organ donor.
See also
- ConservatismConservatismConservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
- List of cognitive biases
- System justificationSystem justificationSystem justification theory is a scientific theory within social psychology that proposes people have a motivation to defend and bolster the status quo, that is, to see it as good, legitimate, and desirable....
- Situationism (psychology)Situationism (psychology)Situationism in psychology refers to an approach to personality that holds that people are more influenced by external, situational factors than by internal traits or motivations....