sunk costs fallacy
Investment justifies continuation
The sunk costs fallacy is the tendency to continue investing in something because of what you've already spent, rather than what you'll gain going forward.
People finish bad movies because they paid for tickets, or stay in failing relationships because of years invested.
The rational approach ignores past costs—they're gone either way—but human psychology resists abandoning what feels like wasted effort.
I know I should quit, but I've already put so much into this.
- throw good money after badInvesting further in failures
- cognitiveRelating to thinking
- investmentDeploying capital for returns
- doubling downStrengthening a risky commitment
- economicsScience of resource allocation
good money after bad · throwing money away · finance · satisficing · commitment · point of no return · framing effect · mental accounting · behavioral · illusion · self-justification · cognitive dissonance · mistake · confirmation bias · decision-making · decision trees · diminishing returns · loss aversion
sunk costs fallacycost-benefit analysis
Systematic comparison of advantages, disadvantages
rational choice · walking away · letting go · clean break · starting fresh
sunk costs fallacysound judgment
Wise decision-making ability
clear thinking · logical reasoning · rational thinking · level-headedness · mental discipline
sunk, cost, costs, fallacy, sunken, costed, costing, costly, costliness