Availability heuristics
The availability heuristic is judging the likelihood or importance of a phenomenon based on how easily examples come to mind.
Definition
The availability heuristic makes recent, emotional, media or personal events seem more likely than the data indicate. It can help with quick orientation, but it often distorts the assessment in risk decisions. An example is overestimating high-profile risks and underestimating quiet, common problems.
Key ideas
Missing key ideas.
Practice and life
When you assess risk, ask: am I basing it on data or the most vivid example I can remember?
Common misunderstanding
It is a mistake to confuse the intensity of a memory with its frequency of occurrence. A strong image in your head is not yet a statistic.
Questions for self-reflection
No questions for self-reflection.
Sources
No sources.