Loss aversion is a cognitive bias in which the same situation feels worse when framed as a loss than when framed as a gain. It is different from risk aversion, which is a rational preference about uncertain outcomes. In cumulative prospect theory, the curve describing losses is much steeper than the curve for gains, so losses hurt more than equivalent gains please. Empirically, losses tend to be treated as if they were about twice as large as a matching gain. Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman introduced the idea as a central part of prospect theory. It helps explain why people hold onto investments that have fallen and resist selling at a loss.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.