escalation of commitment

Brinkmanship – Political and military tactic

Confirmation bias – Bias confirming existing attitudes

Conflict escalation – Concept in conflict studies

Cost overrun – Unexpected incurred costs in excess of budgeted amounts

Pivoting – Early business development tool

Loss aversion – Aspect of decision and prospect theories

Martingale (betting system) – Gambling strategy where the amount is raised until a person wins or becomes insolvent

mission creep – Expansion of a project beyond its initial goals

Planck's principle – Principle that scientific change is generational

Replication crisis – Observed inability to reproduce scientific studies

Sunk cost – Cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered

True-believer syndrome – Continued belief in a debunked theory