Psychological inertia is the tendency to maintain the status quo (or default option) unless compelled by a psychological motive to intervene or reject this.[1]
Psychological inertia is similar to the status-quo bias but there is an important distinction in that psychological inertia involves inhibiting any action, whereas the status-quo bias involves avoiding any change which would be perceived as a loss.
Research into psychological inertia is limited, particularly into its causes, but it has been seen to affect decision-making by causing individuals to automatically choose or prefer the default option, even if there is a more beneficial option available to them, unless motivated to reject this option. For example, psychological inertia may cause individuals to continue with their investments later than they should, despite information telling them otherwise, causing them to suffer greater losses than they would have if they had disinvested earlier.[2]
Psychological inertia has also seen to be relevant in areas of health, crime and within the workplace.
- ^ Gal, David (July 2006). "A psychological law of inertia and the illusion of loss aversion" (PDF). Judgment and Decision Making. 1 (1): 23–32. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.313.7370. doi:10.1037/e683162011-083. S2CID 15703786.
- ^ Sandri, Serena; Schade, Christian; Odening, Martin; Musshoff, Oliver (2010). "Holding on for too long? An experimental study on inertia in entrepreneurs' and non-entrepreneurs' disinvestment choices" (PDF). Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. 76 (1): 30–44. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2010.02.011.
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