Behavior: We Do Not Change Easily
■Inertia
Inertia refers to the tendency to maintain the current state rather than change it.
Even when change could be a better option, we tend to choose what feels familiar.
An acquaintance of mine in Japan once forgot to cancel the NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) license fee after moving. Although they no longer watched the broadcasts, the cancellation process felt bothersome, so they continued paying the fee for almost a year.
They eventually canceled it after I repeatedly told them they should, but this episode shows how choosing to do nothing can feel like the easiest option, even when we know it results in a loss.
Inertia turns “doing nothing” into a choice in itself.
■Planning Fallacy
People tend to underestimate the time and effort required to complete a task.
As a result, they believe that “this time will be different,” yet the outcome is often the same.
Once, I saw the travel itinerary of a Korean acquaintance planning a trip to Japan. Since it was a long-awaited overseas trip, their schedule was packed from morning to night, but it seemed overly tight and unrealistic. In real travel situations, unexpected variables such as traffic congestion or long queues at theme parks are almost inevitable.
The planning fallacy leads us to make overly optimistic assumptions about the future while failing to account for delays and uncertainty.
■Sunk Cost
The sunk cost effect describes the tendency to continue a course of action because of time, money, or effort already invested, even when we know it is a poor decision.
Past costs end up constraining present judgment.
I enjoy playing crane games, and once there was a prize that would not come out despite several attempts. As I kept playing, the money I had already spent felt too wasteful to stop. Although I eventually won the prize, it turned out that buying the same item directly from a store would have been cheaper.
Now I set a limit on how many times I play, but that experience made me reflect on sunk costs. When we realize a decision is flawed, choosing to minimize future losses is often more important than clinging to what we have already paid.
■Decoy Effect
When an additional option is introduced, a choice we previously hesitated over can suddenly appear more attractive.
Simply changing the basis of comparison can easily influence our behavior.
I once hesitated between ordering a hamburger on its own or choosing a set meal. I was not very hungry and planned to order just the burger and a drink, but the set included fries and was not much more expensive. It felt more reasonable to choose the set, yet I ended up leaving most of the fries uneaten because I was already full.
The decoy effect shows how the structure of available options alone can lead us to make choices that do not align with our actual needs.
Emotion: We Judge After We Feel
■Loss Aversion
People experience the emotional pain of losses more strongly than the pleasure of gains of the same size.
As a result, they tend to focus more on avoiding losses than on obtaining gains.
When shopping online or offline, phrases such as “sale ending soon” or “almost out of stock” can make us rush into buying something we do not actually need. Not buying it feels less like missing out on a benefit and more like suffering a loss.
Similarly, at the checkout counter, when we are told that a discount applies if we spend a little more, we may think, “I can get it cheaper than the regular price right now,” and end up browsing the store once more even if we do not need anything else.
In this way, loss aversion influences our choices by making the possibility of loss feel disproportionately large, even when no real loss has occurred.
■Anchoring Effect
The first piece of information or number we encounter becomes a reference point for later judgments.
Even if that anchor is not rational, our feelings tend to remain tied to it.
The anchoring effect is especially noticeable in places like outlet malls, where most items are sold at discounted prices.
After seeing the original price and thinking it is too expensive, the discounted price can feel relatively cheap. In reality, the discounted price is not necessarily inexpensive, but the initial price becomes the anchor, leading us to think, “This is a pretty reasonable purchase.”
■Mental Accounting
People do not view money or resources objectively as a single whole, but instead mentally separate them into different accounts.
As a result, the same amount can feel very different depending on its source or intended use.
These days, earning points has become a normal part of shopping almost anywhere. Once enough points accumulate, they can be used like cash, so I also make a habit of collecting points at places I visit frequently.
However, points do not quite feel like my own money, and I often find myself spending them without much hesitation. If the same amount were deducted directly from my bank account, would I have spent it so easily? Mental accounting leads us to apply different spending standards to money of the same value, depending on its origin or label.
■Confirmation Bias
People tend to accept information that aligns with their existing beliefs while ignoring information that contradicts them.
Once formed, emotions and judgments reinforce themselves and become increasingly fixed.
Most people would probably agree that first impressions matter. In Japan as well, terms like “first impression” or “initial impression” are frequently mentioned.
Embarrassingly enough, I once developed a negative perception of someone based solely on my first impression. Each time that person behaved in a way I perceived as negative, my impression grew stronger, while I largely ignored their positive qualities.
Later, after having enough conversations, I realized that my impression had been mistaken. At the time, however, confirmation bias led me to selectively accept only the information that reinforced my initial belief.
■Hedonic Adaptation
Whether an experience is good or bad, our emotions gradually become accustomed to it over time.
As a result, even better choices do not lead to lasting satisfaction.
When I first came to Japan, I lived in a quiet area somewhat removed from the city center. When I later moved to my current place in the city center, I felt genuinely happy, as the surrounding environment was completely different from where I had lived before. I thought it had been a very good decision.
Over time, however, the environment I had been so pleased with became something I took for granted, and I started thinking about moving to an even larger and more comfortable place. Hedonic adaptation shows how our emotions gradually adjust, whether the change is positive or negative.
Time: We Constantly Betray Our Future Selves
■Present Bias
People place greater value on immediate satisfaction than on future rewards.
As a result, even when they know a choice would be better in the long run, they tend to repeat decisions that favor the present.
Deciding how to handle dinner is a problem I find myself worrying about every day. Although cooking at home is clearly more economical, on particularly tiring days I sometimes choose delivery food, even knowing it will cost more. That is because the desire to ease immediate fatigue feels stronger than the need to manage long-term spending.
A single decision may seem trivial, but when similar choices are repeated, they can gradually turn into a spending habit. Present bias shows how present comfort can easily override future benefits.
■Hyperbolic Discounting
As a reward becomes closer in time, its perceived value increases sharply, while rewards further away are heavily discounted.
This leads us to underestimate future benefits and overvalue immediate rewards.
Because mornings are especially exhausting, I often wake up telling myself that I will definitely go to bed early that night. Yet even though I know that sleeping early would make the next day much easier, the brief sense of freedom before going to bed feels more valuable.
Due to hyperbolic discounting, the reward of feeling refreshed the next morning feels distant, while immediate rest feels disproportionately significant. This example clearly illustrates how our choices change as rewards draw closer.
■Delay Discounting
As rewards are delayed, the psychological cost of waiting increases, sharply reducing the attractiveness of the choice.
As a result, people tend to give up easily on rewards they cannot receive immediately.
When running a blog, one of the most difficult aspects is that visible rewards are rarely immediate. Writing a single post requires time and energy, yet it is impossible to know when responses or results will appear.
This sometimes leads me to wonder whether I should invest my time in something other than blogging—something that produces immediate, visible outcomes. Delay discounting shows how delayed rewards are perceived as less valuable, making the act of waiting itself feel burdensome.
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