Suppose a fundraiser or web site or aggregator is trying to get donors to consider a particular measure (e.g., lives saved per $10,000). Users/donors may find this easier to consider if they can compare it to other charities or situations (e.g., the US government, when considering domestic policies, values a year of life at $70,000)

Alternative tool name:

Tool variation:

Category: Info/communications

Sub-category: Debiasing

Relevant theories: Evaluability bias

Type of evidence: Lab-charity, Hypothetical/intentional experiment

Evidence strength (ad hoc assessment):

Preference for complicated characteristics increases when moving from separate to joint evaluation; identifiable victim vs large group, effectiveness vs. overhead

Prevalence:

• The Identified Victim Effect: An Identified Group, Or Just A Single Individual?, Full text

Contributors David Reinstein