Expectations & sunk costs


I train soft skills as my day job and am lucky enough to feel consistently engaged and challenged by it. Recently my class was on critical thinking and so I came to the topic of some thinking traps we humans fall into as well as certain fallacies. In particular, I was recently struck by the sunk cost fallacy.

The sunk cost fallacy is quite interesting once we run into it for ourselves. In essence, we stop thinking logically or critically once we have invested money or time (the sunk cost) into something. For example, we buy tickets for an event or show then feel obliged to go, or keep watching, even if we are no longer interested.

“We should go; we’ve spent the money after all and there are no refunds.”

For me this struck while playing the video game Bioshock Infinite. This game received very high acclaim and great reviews overall, marking the third game in a series where the first is widely considered among the greatest games of all time

I’m not having too much fun in the game. Should I keep playing since I can’t get a refund and already spent the money?

This is the sunk cost fallacy in action. I’m equally illogical with my thinking as the examples I used during the training course. My inclination is to keep playing the game since I’ve already spent a few hours playing through (and can’t get a refund anyway). I should finish the game, in part to see whether it gets better later on and the ending is a big twist or similar. I shouldn’t just quit partway through, should I? I’m having some fun, though not as much as everyone else who seems to have played it. Is that enough reason to justify my sunk cost behaviour?

To understand the problem I’m having also requires a quick look at the power of expectations and recent experiences. Prior to playing the game, I last finished a game called Deus Ex Human Revolution, another critically acclaimed title. Others have also described the Bioshock series as being like RPGs (Role Playing Games), or at least somewhat this way. This was my opening expectation.
Bioshock Infinite is a great setting that is, in my view, ruined and underused by the game itself. Columbia, a floating city in the clouds with 1920s inspired art and architecture bring racism and segregation combined with exotic technology to make a fascinating world. The first few minutes in the cloud city, walking through a stunning sunlit cathedral to the sound of hymns sets the scene incredibly.




Then the gameplay rapidly devolves (from my perspective) into a bloody and high paced shooter where you mow down enemies en masse while blasting your way through the story. I feel like I’m borderline genocidal as my character slaughters his way through what must be most of the menfolk in Columbia. My character must have orphaned and widowed hundreds, if not thousands, and I haven’t finished the game yet. My love for the scenery becomes secondary as well since I’m busy being attacked by wave after wave of soldiers and police, all of whom support the oppressive leader (and are therefore fair game for my arsenal of weapons). I can’t admire the beauty when I’m busy killing and when I’m done and have a chance to look around, the bodies on the floor somewhat mar the image.



Honestly, I think my mistake is thinking of this game as anything RPG. This is a shooting game first and foremost. Once I started to reset my thinking, the game made more sense. I still found it a missed opportunity in terms of the world that had been built, but it was more enjoyable. 

Despite these challenges, I've been finding the game enjoyable (enough) once I reorganised my thoughts to match what was on offer. It goes to show the power of expectations on our enjoyment of things in life. 

Although, perhaps this is just my way of justifying my continued gaming even through the sunk costs issue... 😉

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