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decision making
You keep finishing the book you dislike reading.
The tendency to follow through on an investment is often driven by the cost already incurred.
Decision-making often ignores future utility in favor of justifying past expenses. A 1985 study showed that even when told a project had a high probability of failure, people invested more money because they had already committed funds. You fear the wasted effort more than the bad outcome.
Your past efforts act as a chain on your future choices.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Arkes & Blumer, 1985
- What the check found
- The claim accurately characterizes the sunk cost fallacy defined by Arkes and Blumer (1985), which is a well-replicated finding in behavioral economics.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.