This is a Lexicon entry: the mechanism, when it shows up, and the countermeasure. The full correction, with real-world cases and the audit prompt, hasn't been written yet.
Definition
The powerful tendency to favour the option that requires no active choice - whatever is pre-selected. Organ donation rates differ dramatically across countries based solely on whether the default is opt-in or opt-out.
When it shows up
Any choice where one option is pre-selected: organ donor settings, retirement fund enrollment, subscription renewals, app permissions. Any decision-frame that requires action to opt out.
Failure mode
Whatever requires no action is taken by the majority. The default is treated as implicitly recommended ('if this were a bad default, they would have changed it'). Inertia does the choosing even for high-stakes outcomes.
Countermeasure
Design defaults deliberately in systems you control. As a chooser, ask: 'Would I actively pick this if nothing were preselected?' If not, opt out.
Related concepts
Also connected in the mapRegret Aversion·Loss Aversion·Status Quo Bias·Environmental Design·Ballot Order Effect·Behavioral Arbitrage·Activation Energy (as Mental Model)
Origin
DiscoveredJohnson, E.J. & Goldstein, D. (2003). 'Do defaults save lives?' Science 302(5649), 1338-1339 source ↗
Read next
Entry #61 of 631 in The Lexicon · see the full Lexicon