Loss Aversion Makes Losing Hurt More Than Winning Pleases
A loss is something no longer possessed. Research shows people weigh losses far more heavily than equal gains.
A loss is the fact of no longer having something, or the amount lost. Behavioural research has repeatedly found that people weigh a loss more heavily than an equivalent gain — losing a sum feels worse than gaining the same sum feels good, by a factor often estimated at around two. Kahneman and Tversky named the effect loss aversion in 1979, and it explains much behaviour that pure arithmetic does not. *At a loss* means uncertain, from being unable to find the trail in hunting.
- Something no longer held. *A heavy loss.*
- A financial deficit. *Trading at a loss.*
- At a loss — uncertain. *At a loss.*
- Loss aversion. *Loss aversion.*
- Old English — *los*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | loss | A loss. |
| Plural | losses | Losses. |
| Verb | lose | Losing. |
| Adjective | lost | Lost. |
| Old English | los | Destruction. |
- The loss was substantial.Amount.
- I am at a loss.Idiom.
- Losses weigh more than gains.Psychology.
What loss aversion explains
- Holding failing investments rather than realising a loss
- The effectiveness of free trial periods, once something feels owned
- Framing a choice as avoiding loss rather than making a gain
- Reluctance to trade an item already received
- Named by Kahneman and Tversky in 1979
Old English *los*, destruction or ruin, related to *lose*.
What is loss aversion?
The tendency to weigh a loss more heavily than an equivalent gain, named by Kahneman and Tversky in 1979.
Where does at a loss come from?
From hunting, where hounds losing the scent could not proceed. Being at a loss meant having no trail to follow.