'Escalation of commitment': Psychologist explains why it's so hard for Biden to pack it in

Faced with mounting calls from within his own party to bow out and allow Vice President Kamala Harris to head up the ticket, President Joe Biden so far doesn't appear to be planning for an exit — and there's an important reason for that, wrote University of Pennsylvania psychologist Adam Grant for The New York Times.

Specifically, he wrote, Biden faces a psychological phenomenon known as "escalation of commitment to a losing course of action," or the idea that one tends to prefer doubling down because "it feels better to be a fighter than a quitter."

"One of the tragedies of the human condition is that we use our big brains not to make rational decisions, but rather to rationalize the decisions we’ve already made," wrote Grant — and this goes beyond politicians simply refusing to give up in the face of dimming odds. "We stick around too long in dead-end jobs. We stay in unhappy marriages even after friends have counseled us to leave. We stand by candidates even after they violate our principles."

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Past presidents have stuck to failing policies out of this very fear — including the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, he noted. "It happens in business, too: Blockbuster went bust because instead of buying Netflix, leaders escalated their commitment to renting physical videos. Kodak made the same mistake by doubling down on selling film instead of pivoting to digital cameras."

Escalation of commitment is made stronger, Grant explained, when someone feels emotionally attached to the plan, when the end is drawing near, and when there is still some semblance of a path to victory — all of which is true in Biden's case. Which makes it all the more difficult for him to change course — further compounded by the fear many of his own staffers have to speak their mind.

"What Mr. Biden needs is not a support network but a challenge network — people who have the will to put the country’s interests ahead of his and the skill to coldly assess his chances," Grant concluded. "That’s a task for someone who is not affiliated with the campaign in any way, someone whose judgment has proved to be impeccable and most of all, impartial, and someone who is not worried about the possible cost to their own career."

It may be time, he added, for Biden to recognize that "service is not only about stepping up to lead. It’s also about having the courage to step aside."