When an individual falls victim to the sunk cost fallacy, the consequences that follow are generally even worse. Maybe it’s an extra few thousand wasted on a rust bucket of a car just to feel like the money invested in it wasn’t for nothing. Maybe it means staying in a bad relationship that ought to have ended years ago. Maybe it’s why – just to pick a totally random example – a columnist will persist with a snoozer of a column because she’s typed out 500 words already. These are emotional, illogical decisions, but humans are emotional, illogical creatures who often have a hard time reversing course when we feel like we’ve already invested a lot of money, time or attention.
