The Pros And Cons Of Available Heuristics

One of the oldest laws of memory is that association is strengthened by repetition. This repetition allows one to create a mental shortcut or personal rule of thumb to make judgments and decisions easier, known as heuristics. Availability heuristics are defined as using the strength of association to estimate the frequency or probability of an event, based on how easily the associations can be brought to mind. Basically, one is making decisions based on what easily comes to mind, and if something is available in memory, it is more likely to be remembered.
Although availability heuristics have some benefits, it also has some disadvantages that can lead to bias. Most people take advantage of availability heuristics to some degree. Tversky and
For instance, the portrayal of an event by the media allows events to be recalled much easier than others. Unfortunately, what is portrayed in the media is often a stretch from actual events happening in one’s local city. The media has a way of inserting their own judgment or bias in certain areas of concern. When this happens, the media can influence judgment. “When retrieval seems easy, the event will be judged probable; when the retrieval seems difficult, the event will be judged improbable.” (Folkes, V. S., 1988) The disadvantage that Valerie Folkes describes is that even though the event is easier to remember due to the media, the judgment may not always be correct. As a result, the use of the availability heuristic can lead to
With pit bulls, what comes to mind is how dangerous they are. This belief is generalized and thought to be true for all pit bulls based on media hype. For example, in the article, “Managing the Stigma of Outlaw Breeds: A Case Study of Pit Bull Owners” the authors describe the recent stigma surrounding pit bulls because of their aggressive behavior towards people. The negative image of the breed is thanks to the portrayal in the media of “pit bulls as demonic animals - unpredictable and savage in their behavior toward humans.” (Twining, H., Arluke, A., & Patronek, G., 2000) The media kept the judgment going by reporting every pit bull attack while minimizing those of other breeds. As a result, the dogs have been labeled as the most dangerous in America and cities have passed ordinances restricting or banning pit