Past outcomes anchor expectations so we focus on deviations from them.

Evidence

But the baseline of the past establishes our expectations, and so we concentrate on deviations from it, even if logically they do not carry much meaning. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2568

Categorization

• XREF: This is an anchoring-and-adjustment observation from judgment heuristics literature, connects to Kahneman subject’s framing and availability lines.