Status quo bias

The status quo bias is a cognitive bias for the status quo; in other words, people tend to avoid changing the established behavior or beliefs unless the pressure to change is sufficiently strong.

The reversal test is a technique for recognizing fallacious counterarguments against change. If the counterargument states that the change of some parameter in one direction is undesirable, the reversal test is to check whether either the change of that parameter in the opposite direction (away from status quo) is desirable, or that there are strong reasons to expect that the current value of the parameter is (at least locally) the optimal one.

See also

• Reversal test
• Least convenient possible world
• Cached thought
• Sunk cost fallacy