Default Effect
The observation that if making an option a 'default' option increases the likelihood that it is chosen.
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Origin
William Samuelson and Richard Zeckhauser introduced "status quo bias" in a 1988 Journal of Risk and Uncertainty paper. The default effect was crystallised in 2003, when Eric J. Johnson and Daniel Goldstein published a Science study showing opt-out organ-donation defaults dramatically raised registration rates across countries.
Updated February 22, 2026