Saturday, May 31, 2014

13 - Chapter 13: Availability, Emotion and Risk

Chapter 13: Availability, Emotion and Risk


  • as memories of disasters dim, less concerned — prep’ns aim for just worst case in the past, don’t imagine even worse

Availability and Affect

  • avail. biases prominent in assessing risk — e.g. media highlights unusual events , dangers à makes them more avail., seem more common
  • activation of ideas in assoc. memory
  • strong emotion, e.g. fear, make certain ideas vivid, more avail.  
  • the emotional tail wags the rational dog — consult our emotions to make judg’ts & decisions, substitution, Do I like it? How much? —positive feelings abt a technology à lower assess’t of risk

The Public and the Experts

  • several views on how to evaluate risk, public disasters, gov’t policy

Speaking of Availability Cascades


  • “She’s raving about an innovation that has large benefits and no costs. I suspect the affect heuristic.”
  • “This is an availability cascade: a nonevent that is inflated by the media and the public until it fills our TV screens and becomes all anyone is talking about.”

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