The Status Quo Bias

Status quo bias is a preference for the way things are now. When used as a reference point for future decisions, any changes to the way things are now (the status quo) is perceived as a loss.

Research shows the status quo bias affects our decision-making process quite often. The status quo bias frequently intersects with other biases like the sunk-cost fallacy, loss aversion, and the mere exposure effect. However, it’s important to distinguish status quo bias from a rational preference for the status quo (status quo ante) i.e. when the way things are now is superior to the available alternatives.

The phenomenon was first identified and coined ‘status quo bias’ by Samuelson and Zeckhouser in 1988. They conducted a series of experiments where subjects faced a series of decision-making problems with and without a pre-existing status quo positions. The subjects tended to remain with the status quo.