Loss Aversion
Losses weigh more than equal gains — real, but smaller and more conditional than the famous 'twice as much': the median estimate is about 1.3 to 1, and it fades for small stakes.
An everyday example
Keeping a bad subscription because cancelling feels like losing something, though the money leaving each month is the actual loss.
What it can cost you
Over-paying to avoid framed losses; being sold with 'don't lose your…'.
Warning signs
- I am keeping something to avoid the feeling of losing it.
- The pitch is about what I stand to lose.
One thing to do
Reframe every 'loss' as the gain you get back, and every offer as what you give up to take it.
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