Pro Arguments, Con Arguments and Status Quo Bias in Multi-Issue Decision Problems.

The public faces a choice between two alternatives: the status quo and a "comprehesive reform" proposal that departs from the status quo in several dimensions. Deliberation over the problem takes the form of a public multi-issue debate. The "reformists" argue that the proposed reform satisfies desirable features lacked by the status quo. The status quo supporters counter-argue that some of these features are obtainable by a reform that departs from the status quo in a single dimension only. This "modest reform" is not a feasible alternative in the debate and is used by the status quo camp merely as an argument.