Availability bias
Nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one you have.” – Emile Chartier
In part 5 of our series we are exploring the Availability Bias. The Availability bias is a
that relies on us using immediate examples that come to mind to make our current
or
, as opposed to using logic.
Whatever
comes to mind the easiest or whatever information is the most
readily
available is what we perceive as true. We make these judgements
the
outcomes
of past experiences, but if you watched last week’s video, you know that we tend to
latch
onto our negative experiences more than we do the positive ones,
the error in our thinking known as the negativity bias. Because of this, we often have one bad experience that spoils an
for us. But the thing is, the outcomes we’ve experienced in our past are not necessarily
likely to
happen again and can sometimes be
highly unlikely
. In the name of this bias, we allow logic to be
overridden
by recent, past experiences.
For example, the
bias is the reason major US airlines experienced a rapid reduction in passenger demand in the months following 9/11. While the chances of a flight being hijacked were less than .000004%, the recent experience of 9-11 was still
on the forefront
of our minds. This one terrifying experience radically
of the airline industry as a whole when it comes to our security on their flights. Another example of this bias is the
eerie
feeling we get after watching a zombie movie or a show like the walking dead. Ya know, that feeling that a zombie apocalypse is likely to kick off the following week.
Or have you ever taken a trip to the beach after a shark week
binge
and noticed an insanely heightened fear of being attacked by a shark? Even though the chances of that happening are
they were before you watched shark week, now that you have all that fresh on your mind, it seems much more likely.
The availability bias is our
to latch onto the outcomes of recent experiences that make these outcomes seem more
than is actually the case.
In next week’s video, we will discuss ways to
overcome
these cognitive biases and limit the control they have over your life.
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