Status Quo Bias
The preference for things to stay as they are, even when change would be beneficial. People tend to perceive any deviation from the current state as a loss.
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Origin
Researchers William Samuelson and Richard Zeckhauser coined the term in their 1988 paper "Status Quo Bias in Decision Making," published in the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty. Their experiments showed individuals disproportionately stick with defaults in hypothetical scenarios and real decisions like health plans and retirement programs. The research challenged neoclassical assumptions by demonstrating that decision-makers systematically prefer the current state even when alternatives yield equivalent or superior outcomes, deviating from rational utility maximization.
Updated February 22, 2026