Status quo bias is the preference for the current state of affairs, in which people tend to resist changing an existing arrangement or decision even when an alternative would leave them equally or better off. The economists William Samuelson and Richard Zeckhauser demonstrated the effect experimentally in a 1988 study, showing that people disproportionately chose to keep whatever option had been designated the default or existing choice across a range of decision scenarios. It is closely related to loss aversion and the endowment effect, and it has been influential in behavioral economics research on default options, such as retirement savings enrollment and organ donation policy.
Facts
Core ClaimA status quo bias or default bias is a cognitive bias which results from a preference for the maintenance of one's existing state of affairs, where the current baseline is taken as a reference point and any change from it is perceived as a loss or gain. 1 First Described Year Classification
Type of Phenomenon Connections
Associated With
Omission bias has been used to help explain the endowment effect and status quo bias.
Source Wikipedia: Omission bias
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Status quo bias
Wikimedia FoundationIntroduction
A status quo bias or default bias is a cognitive bias which results from a preference for the maintenance of one's existing state of affairs.
Experiments section, Questionnaire subsection
Samuelson and Zeckhauser (1988) demonstrated status quo bias using a questionnaire in which subjects faced a series of decision problems, which were alternately framed to be with and without a pre-existing status quo position.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
A status quo bias or default bias is a cognitive bias which results from a preference for the maintenance of one's existing state of affairs.
View the Source Wikipedia: Omission bias
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Omission Bias, lead sectionQuote, Associated With: Omission Bias, lead section
The bias is often showcased through the trolley problem and has also been described as an explanation for the endowment effect and status quo bias.
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