Abstract:
What drives people to adapt when change is costly? We test this experimentally, confronting 365 participants with an exogenous shock and varying both adaptation costs and psychological resources. The results show: resources only matter when costs are high, and only when multiple types combine. The mechanism is cognitive: resources shift expectations about returns, not perceived costs. Strikingly, pre-existing psychological traits fail to predict who adapts, confirming the resilience paradox.
