{"id":28789,"date":"2024-07-22T11:49:15","date_gmt":"2024-07-22T09:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=28789"},"modified":"2026-09-30T12:20:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T10:20:04","slug":"the-sunk-cost-fallacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2024\/07\/the-sunk-cost-fallacy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sunk Cost Fallacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>B2 &#8211; Upper Intermediate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have you ever made a bad decision and felt the need to correct or fix your mistake? Everyone in this world has experienced lapses in judgment from time to time, but the way they cope with their errors varies from person to person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, not all of these methods are healthy or even beneficial, such as the sunk cost fallacy, where we keep\u00a0doing something because\u00a0we have already\u00a0spent time, money, or effort on\u00a0it, even when\u00a0continuing is no\u00a0longer the best\u00a0choice. In simple terms:\u00a0\u201c<em>I\u2019ve already invested\u00a0so much, so\u00a0I can\u2019t stop\u00a0now.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Watch the video to learn more about the sunk cost fallacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Know When To Quit - The Sunk Cost Fallacy\" width=\"580\" height=\"326\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZKZ6EOeyvOE?wmode=transparent&amp;rel=0&amp;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Vocabulary Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What does &#8220;<strong>sunk cost<\/strong>&#8221; mean?&nbsp;<em>\u201cI know that there are plenty of other reasons why people stay together, but <strong>sunk cost<\/strong> is definitely up there.\u201d<\/em> Use this term to make your own sentence.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What does &#8220;<strong>to call it quits<\/strong>&#8221; mean?\u00a0<em>\u201cIt&#8217;s better <strong>to call it quits<\/strong> now and save yourself from future misery.&#8221;<\/em> Give two (2) synonyms or similar expressions and create a sentence using this phrase.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What does &#8220;<strong>to dig a big hole for one&#8217;s self<\/strong>&#8221; mean?\u00a0<em>&#8220;If you continue to pour more resources into a failing project, you&#8217;re just <strong>digging a bigger hole<\/strong> <strong>for<\/strong> <strong>yourself<\/strong>.&#8221;<\/em> Use this phrase in your own sentence. Give a synonym or similar expression.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Discussion Questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why do people\u00a0find it difficult\u00a0to walk away\u00a0from something they\u00a0have already invested\u00a0in?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can the\u00a0sunk cost fallacy\u00a0affect important decisions\u00a0about relationships, careers, or education?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When should one\u00a0accept that an\u00a0investment was a\u00a0mistake and move\u00a0on?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is giving up\u00a0always a bad\u00a0thing, or can\u00a0it sometimes be\u00a0the smartest choice? Explain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have you ever\u00a0continued doing something\u00a0because you had\u00a0already spent money\u00a0or time on\u00a0it? What happened?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>B2 &#8211; Upper Intermediate Have you ever made a bad decision and felt the need to correct or fix your mistake? Everyone in this world has experienced lapses in judgment from time to time, but the way they cope with their errors varies from person to person. Unfortunately, not all of these methods are healthy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[291,292,290,335,14],"class_list":["post-28789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homework","tag-b2-upper-intermediate","tag-first-certificate-fce","tag-listening","tag-psychology","tag-video"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Sunk Cost Fallacy | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2024\/07\/the-sunk-cost-fallacy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Sunk Cost Fallacy | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"B2 &#8211; Upper Intermediate Have you ever made a bad decision and felt the need to correct or fix your mistake? 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