Sunk cost fallacy

Topic

The sunk cost fallacy is a cognitive bias where individuals continue an endeavor or investment because of previously invested resources, such as time, money, or effort, even when continuing is no longer beneficial. This behavior is driven by an aversion to loss and a desire to avoid feeling that past investments were wasted. In rational decision-making, only prospective future costs and benefits should be considered, while past sunk costs should be ignored.