The influence of the media and of the availability heuristic: An experimental study

Abstract

In our daily lives we use mental shortcuts - called heuristics - that help our decision-making process, making it easier and faster. In some cases, however, these same shortcuts can present a distorted view of reality. Foreign (non-Brazilian) empirical researches have shown that the media prefers to report on more dramatic and sensational events, and that this can have a decisive effect on the availability of certain events in our minds, twisting our perception of their probability and influencing our judgment. In spite of the importance of the matter, no study was found in Brazil trying to confirm the existence of influence of the news shown in the media, together with the judgment biases. The study presented in this article applied empirical tests in order to verify the hypothesis that the manner and frequency in which the media shows certain topics can influence the Brazilians' perception of frequency and probability of some specific events. The results confirmed this hypothesis.