science

Psychology of previous investment

Psychology of previous investment is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Psychology of previous investment rather than just read about it. In short: The phrase psychology of previous investment was coined by James Howard Kunstler to describe the sunk costs of the modern urban/suburban lifestyle. It is the reluctance to abandon technologies and standards of urban infrastructure into which humans have already made substantial investments, and is seen as a major contributor to modern energy crises.

Key takeaways

Psychology of previous investment belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Psychology of previous investment to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Psychology of previous investment from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The phrase psychology of previous investment was coined by James Howard Kunstler to describe the sunk costs of the modern urban/suburban lifestyle. It is the reluctance to abandon technologies and standards of urban infrastructure into which humans have already made substantial investments, and is seen as a major contributor to modern energy crises. The term was applied to the reluctance to abandon territories facing sea level rise such as in Florida.

See also Abandonment cost Normalcy bias Optimism bias Ostrich effect Pro-innovation bias Semmelweis reflex Sunk cost fallacy

References

External links The Psychology of Previous Investment - Raise the Hammer PetroCollapse New York Conference; October 5, 2005 - Remarks on the subject from Kunstler's website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Psychology of previous investment

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Psychology of previous investment claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Psychology of previous investment before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Psychology of previous investment ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Psychology of previous investment

In research: Psychology of previous investment appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Psychology of previous investment in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Psychology of previous investment is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cognitive biases, Investment, Investment stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Psychology of previous investment outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Psychology of previous investment in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Psychology of previous investment means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Psychology of previous investment out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Psychology of previous investment in simple terms?

Why does Psychology of previous investment matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Psychology of previous investment?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Psychology of previous investment.