Loss Aversion
The tendency to feel the pain of losing something more intensely than the pleasure of gaining something of equal value. Losses loom larger than gains.
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Origin
Introduced by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky in their 1979 Econometrica paper "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk". The principle that "losses loom larger than gains" became a central concept in prospect theory, demonstrating that the pain of losing is psychologically about twice as powerful as the pleasure of gaining. Kahneman received the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for this work.
Updated February 22, 2026