Status quo bias is the preference for the current state of affairs — a tendency to resist change even when change would be objectively beneficial.

Why It Feels Safe

Change introduces uncertainty. The brain treats potential losses from change as more significant than potential gains — a combination of loss aversion and familiarity comfort.

Examples

• Keeping a mediocre job rather than pursuing a better opportunity
• Staying with a default insurance plan that costs more than alternatives
• Using a legacy software system long after better options exist
• Staying in a city, relationship, or lifestyle that stopped serving you years ago

Default Power

Policymakers exploit this: organ donation opt-out countries have dramatically higher donation rates than opt-in countries — identical choices, different defaults, radically different outcomes.

Question to Ask

If I were starting from scratch today, would I choose this? If the answer is no, status quo bias may be the only reason you're staying.

Reference:

Wikipedia: Status Quo Bias

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_quo_bias