Final answer:
The 'throwing good money after bad' term is a characterization of the sunk cost fallacy, which is not listed in the provided options. It's a tendency to continue investing in something due to past investments despite its current lack of promise or success.
Step-by-step explanation:
The phrase "throwing good money after bad" characterizes the sunk cost fallacy. This cognitive bias occurs when an individual continues to invest in something that is failing or has lost its value because of the amount already invested, whether it's financial, temporal, or emotional. For instance, a person might keep putting money into a failing business due to the emotional attachment and the desire not to lose the initial investment, despite the venture's clear lack of viability.
The correct answer to the question is none of the provided options (a. actor-observer bias, b. fundamental attribution error, c. self-serving bias, d. just-world hypothesis). Instead, it relates to a commonly recognized bias in behavioral economics. The sunk cost fallacy leads individuals to make decisions based on past investments rather than current and future benefits.