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risk
You prefer a known failure to an unknown outcome.
Humans tend to prefer smaller, guaranteed payoffs over larger, uncertain ones in the domain of gains, but often favor risk when facing potential losses.
This is known as the certainty effect, which is domain-dependent rather than a universal preference for safety.
You prioritize the familiarity of losing over the risk of winning.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Uncertain (standard behavioral economics finding)
- What the check found
- The certainty effect is well-documented for gains, but behavior flips in the domain of losses. The claim implies a universal rule for all payoffs, which contradicts prospect theory.
- 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.