Cognitive biases, heuristics and fallacies that contribute to change resistance
One of my favourite resources for my change work is The Decision Lab - I peruse their resources tab regularly when seeking to understand some behavioural quirk or another.
They divide cognitive biases, heuristics and fallacies into four categories:
Ambiguity
Information Overload
Memory
Speed
Here are some of my own thoughts on which are most relevant, and which I see most often in my work, to help to explain why people often react negatively to change.
Status Quo Bias
People tend to prefer things to stay the same, even when change might lead to better outcomes. The current state feels familiar and safe, while change introduces risk and uncertainty.
Cognitive Load and Uncertainty
Change often requires learning new systems, adapting to new roles, or rethinking routines. This increases cognitive load, which the brain naturally tries to minimize. The more ambiguous the change, the more mental effort it demands, the more likely of an increase in resistance
Ambiguity Aversion
This is the tendency to avoid options where the probability of outcomes is unknown. In the context of change, people often don’t know exactly what will happen, how it will affect them, or whether they’ll succeed in the new environment so they resist it.
Loss Aversion (from Prospect Theory)
People feel the pain of loss more intensely than the pleasure of gain. Even if a change promises improvement, the potential loss of comfort, competence, or control can feel more significant.
Need for Cognitive Closure
Some individuals have a strong preference for certainty and quick answers. Change introduces open-endedness and ambiguity, which can be deeply uncomfortable for those who value clarity and predictability.
Endowment Effect
We tend to overvalue what we already have simply because we possess it. This makes people reluctant to give up current processes, tools, or roles - even if the alternatives are objectively better.
Confirmation Bias
Once people form a belief that “change is bad” (many come pre-programmed with this - and at a cultural and societal level, this is taken as ‘fact’) or “this won’t work,” they tend to seek out information that confirms that belief and ignore evidence to the contrary.
Sunk Cost Fallacy
People may resist change because they’ve already invested time, effort, or resources into the current way of doing things - even if it’s no longer effective.
References
The Decision Lab. (n.d.). Biases index. https://thedecisionlab.com/biases-index