MENTAL MODEL · M4646

Sunk Cost

BehaviorHigh supportPsychology

Included

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Costs that have already been incurred and cannot be recovered, such as time, money, and effort invested. Rational decision-making should only consider future costs and benefits, not sunk costs.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Avoid decision traps. The sunk cost fallacy refers to people continuing to invest because of what they have already invested, even when the future prospects are poor. The rational approach is to "cut losses," but this requires overcoming psychological biases.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

People continue to invest due to a reluctance to waste, falling into escalation of commitment.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

Distinguish between sunk costs and future costs
Decide whether to stay or leave based solely on marginal benefits
Set exit thresholds in advance
Use the test: "If I were facing this for the first time now, would I still choose it?"

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

Learning progress0%

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Source support: Explicit

link
zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B2%89%E6%B2%A1%E6%88%90%E6%9C%ACZH · Explicit
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