Mere Exposure and Loss Aversion

These studies suggest that organizational decisions will be subject to a powerful emotional distortion. When an organization's leader proposes a change in direction, people will be feeling two things: Ack, that feels unfamiliar. (And thus more uncomfortable.) Also: Ack, we're going to lose what we have today. When you put these two forces together - the mere-exposure principle and loss aversion - what you get is a powerful bias for the way things work today.

- Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work, Chip and Dan Heath.