Chapter Two - The Intuitive Traditionalist: How Biases for Existence and Longevity Promote the Status Quo

Abstract

Abstract People tend to like things the way they are. All other things being equal, there is a widespread bias in favor of the status quo . We describe two forms this bias may take: people assume that (1) mere existence makes things good and right (the existence bias ) and (2) the longer something is thought to exist, the better and more right it is judged to be (the longevity bias ). We take care to distinguish existence and longevity biases from other forms of status quo preference. Our research emphasizes people's automatic, heuristic tendency to ascribe existence and longevity to inherent features. We describe how existence and longevity biases contribute to status quo maintenance and political ideology; we also show how these biases provide novel explanatory power for incumbency effects, social norms, and the legitimization of inequality. We conclude with a consideration of exceptions to what appears to be a general rule: people assume that the status quo is good, right, and the way things ought to be.