Always Has Been Bias
Always Has Been Bias is a proposed composite bias in which tradition is treated as proof, and familiar methods are defended because they are old rather than because they remain justified.
| Always Has Been Bias | |
|---|---|
| Field | Cognitive psychology; tradition; institutional behavior |
| Author | Andrew Lehti |
| Status | Proposed composite bias |
| Related framework | Cognitive Impasse |
| Related concepts | Status Quo Bias, Semmelweis Reflex, Normative Reflex, Ancestral Default |
Always Has Been Bias describes resistance to change rooted in the belief that longstanding methods are inherently superior. Familiarity poses as merit. Ritual substitutes for argument.
Within Cognitive Impasse, this bias preserves the old frame by making novelty appear disrespectful, reckless, or unnecessary. New ideas may be met with hostility because they threaten the comfort of inherited procedure.
The bias overlaps with status quo bias but emphasizes the rhetoric of age, tradition, and “how it has always been done.”
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