Escalation of Commitment
Irrational Escalation
Pattern of behavior in which an individual or group facing increasingly negative outcomes from a decision, action, or investment nevertheless continues the behavior instead of altering course.
Origin
Organizational behavior researcher Barry Staw introduced the concept in his 1976 paper "Knee-Deep in the Big Muddy," published in Organizational Behavior and Human Performance. The title referenced a Pete Seeger anti–Vietnam War song, and Staw was partly motivated by observing how U.S. leaders continued investing in a failing military strategy. His experiments showed that people who felt personally responsible for initial decisions committed the greatest additional resources when outcomes turned negative. The concept connects to cognitive dissonance theory and the sunk cost fallacy.
Everyday Use
You've watched half a terrible movie and think, "Well, I've already invested an hour, might as well finish." Organizations do this on a much larger scale — pouring money into failing projects because admitting failure feels worse than continuing. The more personally responsible you feel for the original decision, the harder it is to walk away.