Which term refers to unwillingness to change existing processes even when new methods would improve efficiency?

Which term refers to unwillingness to change existing processes even when new methods would improve efficiency?

• A. Emotional investment
• B. Status quo bias
• C. Sunk cost fallacy
• D. Commitment bias

Answer: (B)

Status quo bias is the tendency to prefer things stay the same and to resist changing existing processes, even when a new method would be more efficient. This happens because the current way feels familiar and safer, so people overestimate the risks of change and underestimate the potential gains. In practice, you might keep a slower, manual workflow because learning a new automated process seems daunting, even though the new method could save time and effort overall. Sunk cost fallacy, by contrast, is about continuing with a path because you’ve already invested resources in it. Commitment bias is about sticking with a chosen plan to appear consistent. Emotional investment is about attachment to particular outcomes. These describe different reasons for sticking with or resisting changes, but they don’t specifically capture the pull to keep things exactly as they are just because they’re the current state—status quo bias does.

Status quo bias is the tendency to prefer things stay the same and to resist changing existing processes, even when a new method would be more efficient. This happens because the current way feels familiar and safer, so people overestimate the risks of change and underestimate the potential gains. In practice, you might keep a slower, manual workflow because learning a new automated process seems daunting, even though the new method could save time and effort overall.

Sunk cost fallacy, by contrast, is about continuing with a path because you’ve already invested resources in it. Commitment bias is about sticking with a chosen plan to appear consistent. Emotional investment is about attachment to particular outcomes. These describe different reasons for sticking with or resisting changes, but they don’t specifically capture the pull to keep things exactly as they are just because they’re the current state—status quo bias does.