Endowment effect (status quo bias)

The endowment effect or status quo bias is a cognitive bias in which people assign a higher value to something simply because it is already owned by them. This is because people have an emotional attachment to what they possess and therefore they tend to place a higher value on these possessions than they would if they didn’t own them. This effect often leads to people being less likely to part with an item and therefore more likely to hold onto the item even if it is no longer in their best interests to do so. People may even refuse a deal that would be beneficial to them simply because they do not want to part with their possession.