People we remember more easily the information if it has any kind of emotional impactor it means confronting stereotypes that remain embedded in our subconscious.
This phenomenon, known as availability bias or availability heuristics, occurs because previously stored information is more easily recalled in decision-making and therefore influences behavior or final answer.
The origin of the availability bias
He availability bias is a cognitive phenomenon, the one significant impact in the decision making and in the way we remember information.
This phenomenon, defined as “mental shortcut based on immediate examples that come to a person’s mind when discussing a specific topic, concept, method, or decision. It was first studied in 1973 by Amos Tversky j Daniel Kahneman. From this the people are extracted We tend to rely on readily available facts (or accessible in our memory) at the time of make a decisionrather than in others that are more remote in comparison.
For example, if we were asked if we thought we were more likely to be killed by a shark than a mosquito, we would most likely choose the first option, which isn’t exactly the right one. Statistics show that mosquitoes kill an average of 725,000 people annually, while sharks kill fewer than 10. The reason for this “failure” in the final election is that reports of shark attacks on people with dramatic outcomes are more frequent and emotional than accidents caused by falling coconuts. Because of this, our brain uses the mental shortcut of availability and recognizes shark attacks as more important when it comes to being lethal.
The result: predictable error patterns
Accordingly Tversky and KahnemanFor example, the number of samples stored in memory can be used to infer the frequency with which certain judgment errors occur based on the availability bias.
In an experiment to test this explanation, participants listened to lists of names containing either 19 famous women and 20 lesser-known men or 19 famous men and 20 lesser-known women. Some groups of participants were then asked to remember as many names as possible, while others were asked to rate whether male or female names appeared more frequently on the list. The results showed that the names of famous people were remembered more often than the names of less famous people. On the other hand, it was also found that most participants incorrectly identified the majority gender in the lists, prioritizing the number of ‘famous names’ over the number of ‘overall names’ in the genre in question.
On this basis, Tversky and Kahneman argued that although the availability bias is a effective strategy In many situations when assessing probability can lead to predictable error patterns.
The availability heuristics is undoubtedly one of the most important tools when it comes to getting one marketing strategy or advertising work, Facilitate the positioning of a brandproduct or service in people’s minds.
If you are faced with a purchase decision, We don’t decide which is the best From all the available products, choose the one based on which we choose the one we know best, however, or seems more familiar to us. In addition, in everyday life we ​​have less and less time to search for, analyze and compare products.
For all these reasons, one of the biggest challenges a company can face is getting an unknown brand known to a specific set of potential users. To achieve this, these are some of the most effective resources:
- positive memories: It is important to associate a specific characteristic of our product or service with a positive user memory.
- Fixed issues: It is vitally important to communicate clearly about the problem that we are solving with our service and the inconvenience that results from not betting on it.
- Product or Service Results: Likewise, it is advisable to show the positive experience gained from using the product or service.
- shocking tone: So far, using phrases and slogans that anticipate what is to come will make our product easier to remember once it is presented to the public.
Creating memories, making decisions
In total, availability bias This is a fundamental point influences our decision-making and in how we remember information
inside Marketing and Behavioral Designunderstanding this bias and exploiting it effectively can lead to success significant impact in the way we position brands, products and services in the minds of our consumers.
Al create positive memories and emotional associations communicate solutions clear and consistentYes Design environments that increase availability get from our offers, you can influence ethical in the consumer behavior and achieve successful results in your strategies.
