• Some people seem to care specifically for the identified victim, like calf 269, rather than realizing they represent other sentient beings with their own stories and backgrounds.
• The identifiable victim effect doesn’t impact everyone equally: individual differences in analytic processing style affect how different request types influence donations. Less-analytic thinkers donate more to a single identified victim than statistical victims or a combination; more-analytic thinkers showed no differences. This seems to be the story of our (analytical) movement. I think the curse of knowledge prevents us from understanding how little others know about biases, like the identified victim effect. We assume everyone is as rational as us and don’t fully grasp the potential of a story about a single individual with a name and face.
What makes a single individual identifiable?
It can range from simply referring to them as the victim to creating a full-length film, and I suspect the film would be more effective (...)
But we don’t always approach it this way. We often use a description that could apply to any cow in the dairy industry, just changing the name: This is Sarah. She produces nearly 11,000 gallons of milk—more than 200,000 cups—during her lifetime. Her calf will be taken away from her within hours of birth.
For fish, it’s even worse—we describe them as masses and focus on the ecological damage, overlooking the animals themselves.
How many words could you use to describe your pet’s personality?
I can describe two of our rabbits:
Judie is promotion-driven. She’s always looking for treats. She’s intelligent and responds to her name. Her favorite snack is cranberries; while eating, she’s always searching for the source of her treats, not just focusing on what’s in front of her. She’s friendly, seeks company, is peaceful, and gets along with others. She’s self-confident and happy.
Gaya is more prevention-driven. She’s shy and looks for hiding spots. She seeks tunnels and security and doesn’t get along with others. Nevertheless, she was the first to learn to play with a ball and get treats. Ball games became her favorite activity after she successfully found treats during her first play. She’s more reserved and trusts her closer circle of friends.
We should be able to provide that description level for any identified victim.
Thank you for highlighting our research! Check out the post we wrote about it in this forum.
I believe these are several successful applications of the identifiable victim effect: Maxine’s Dash for Freedom, Okja, Babe, and Axel, Calf 269.
Some pitfalls to avoid, in my opinion:
• Some people seem to care specifically for the identified victim, like calf 269, rather than realizing they represent other sentient beings with their own stories and backgrounds.
• The identifiable victim effect doesn’t impact everyone equally: individual differences in analytic processing style affect how different request types influence donations. Less-analytic thinkers donate more to a single identified victim than statistical victims or a combination; more-analytic thinkers showed no differences. This seems to be the story of our (analytical) movement. I think the curse of knowledge prevents us from understanding how little others know about biases, like the identified victim effect. We assume everyone is as rational as us and don’t fully grasp the potential of a story about a single individual with a name and face.
What makes a single individual identifiable?
It can range from simply referring to them as the victim to creating a full-length film, and I suspect the film would be more effective (...)
But we don’t always approach it this way. We often use a description that could apply to any cow in the dairy industry, just changing the name: This is Sarah. She produces nearly 11,000 gallons of milk—more than 200,000 cups—during her lifetime. Her calf will be taken away from her within hours of birth.
For fish, it’s even worse—we describe them as masses and focus on the ecological damage, overlooking the animals themselves.
How many words could you use to describe your pet’s personality?
I can describe two of our rabbits:
Judie is promotion-driven. She’s always looking for treats. She’s intelligent and responds to her name. Her favorite snack is cranberries; while eating, she’s always searching for the source of her treats, not just focusing on what’s in front of her. She’s friendly, seeks company, is peaceful, and gets along with others. She’s self-confident and happy.
Gaya is more prevention-driven. She’s shy and looks for hiding spots. She seeks tunnels and security and doesn’t get along with others. Nevertheless, she was the first to learn to play with a ball and get treats. Ball games became her favorite activity after she successfully found treats during her first play. She’s more reserved and trusts her closer circle of friends.
We should be able to provide that description level for any identified victim.