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 human tendency to prefer taking some action rather than doing nothing, even if the action is not productive. In penalty shootouts, goalkeepers dive left or right almost every time - even though staying in the center is statistically optimal - because standing still feels like not trying.
When it shows up
When weighing whether to act or stay put; during emergencies, investments or negotiations where doing something feels safer than holding still. Modern context: A portfolio manager who has held a position for six months with no movement sells it and buys a different position - not because analysis supports the switch but because holding feels like passivity and trading feels like work. The new position underperforms the original within the quarter. High-stakes instance: Emergency medicine - over-treatment is documented as a more common error than under-treatment in several healthcare contexts, driven by the professional and psychological cost of visible inaction being higher than the cost of low-benefit intervention. Failure mode: Taking costly or counterproductive action simply to feel like you're trying. Goalkeepers diving unnecessarily. Managers restructuring teams that were working fine. Estimated cost: High - often irreversible where this bias dominates unchecked decisions.
Failure mode
Taking costly or counterproductive action simply to feel like you're trying. Goalkeepers diving unnecessarily. Managers restructuring teams that were working fine.
Countermeasure
Ask: "What is the expected value of acting versus waiting?" If the action is driven by discomfort with inaction rather than evidence, pause. When correction costs more than the bias: In time-sensitive competitive situations where delayed action cedes ground. Many real environments reward speed over accuracy. The correction is most valuable when inaction has lower cost than wrong action - not universally.
Related traps
Also connected in the map4 more, locked
Credit & first seen
DiscoveredPatt&Zeckhauser (2000).'Action Bias Among Elite Soccer Goalkeepers.'Journal of Economic Psychology. Bar-Eli et al. (2007). Journal of Economic Psychology 28(5) source ↗
Also revealed
Entry #53 of 631 in The Lexicon · see the full Lexicon