(Irrational) Escalation Of Commitment

Escalation of commitment, sometimes referred to as irrational escalation of commitment, is a term used to describe irrational decision making that is based upon rational decisions made earlier.

This is a concept in such fields as psychology, game theory, economics, and philosophy. Escalation of commitment is frequently used to justify earlier actions. An example of this would be someone who is gambling and decides to bet everything thing they have on one more hand in a card game. This type of move can mean gaining a fortune or losing everything. Because the person may have made more rational decisions that paid off earlier it reaches a point where the person begins to make irrational and illogical decisions.