A bias that’s based on information regularly available, and not necessarily good or realistic information.
In many cases, like with the media, it’s a form of manipulation. Just bombard the airwaves with some scary message, do it all day, every day, and all of a sudden, everyone thinks it’s happening all day, every day.
Example: sharks. Fear of sharks is abundant. Shark attacks receive a lot of media attention, not to mention movies like Soul Surfer and Jaws. The readily available information…not to mention the horror of graphic shark attacks…causes the events to stand out in people’s minds. It doesn’t matter how unlikely the event is, and shark attacks are highly unlikely.
On the flip side, traffic accidents…and fatalities…are in the 10’s of thousands per year, but the media couldn’t care less, except for the ones that are particularly horrific. As a result, more scary movies and documentaries are made about sharks than about car crashes.
