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Loss aversion 0:32
A 32-second explainer of Loss aversion, narrated over the same demo you can try yourself.
Try the interactive Loss aversion demo
What this video covers
Loss aversion is the way losing something tends to hurt more than gaining the same thing pleases. A common rule of thumb puts losses at about twice the weight of equivalent gains, though the size varies substantially by method and context; the effect itself is well evidenced. The maths can be identical while the feeling is not, which is why "don't lose this" often pulls harder than "get this".
It was the same £5 and the same action both times. Framed as a gain it was easy to shrug off; framed as a loss about to expire, it suddenly felt worth doing now. Nothing changed but the wording around the word "lose" - and that did the work.
