Adonis Diaries

The plague of “default” and “standard” option effects

New Jersey and Pennsylvania States presented options for two car-insurance policies.

New Jersey advertized the cheaper policy as “standard”

Pennsylvania advertized the expensive policy as standard.

And people in both States selected the advertized “standard” policy as their favorite choice.

Default effect for the “standard” settings in the technology gizmos is a warm and soft pillow.

How many of you take the trouble to customize your gadget (iPhone) for data usage, appl synchronization, phone encryption, loudness of camera shutter…?

Government give citizens standard options and the citizens fall prey to the standard even though there is no restriction to their freedom of choice.

When donating organ after death is the standard option or the default option, decision to donate increased two fold to 80%.

Given the choice between trying something new and the “tried-and tested” option, we opt for the second alternative.

That is why conservative citizens will always be the majority.

And how this “Status-quo” bias work?

1. Sheer convenience

2. Loss aversion tendency. Loss upset us twice as much as similar gains.

3. Renegotiating existing contracts prove very difficult tasks

4. Each concession you make weighs twice as heavily as any you receive.

And how change can come?

1. By changing the “default setting” and standard options so that your behavior is changed over time.

2. Similarly, by selecting for the citizens the standard option that is the fairer of all options.

3. By reforming laws and stating that they are standard options in the highly developed nations.

Note: Read “The Art of Thinking Clear”