Why are we more likely to offer help to a specific individual than a vague group?

The 

Identifiable Victim Effect

, explained.
Bias

What is the Identifiable Victim Effect?

The identifiable victim effect describes the likelihood that we feel greater empathy, and an urge to help, in situations where tragedies are about a specific, identifiable individual, compared to situations where the victims are a larger, vaguer group of people.

Where this bias occurs

Imagine coming across the following two stories when browsing a news website:

Children all deserve basic human needs and a happy healthy life. However, this is not the case for many young children across Africa. Over 26 million children are struggling because of starvation, causing them to be in chronic pain and to be emotionally and physically stunted. Your help is needed to overcome this tragic situation. Make a donation today. 

Children all deserve basic human needs and a happy healthy life. However, this is not the case for Jimmy Kimathi. Jimmy is only 12 years old and struggles because of starvation. He has difficulty concentrating in school and doesn’t look like the rest of his classmates because of stunted growth. Jimmy needs your help to overcome his tragic situation. Make a donation today.

According to the identifiable victim effect, we are more likely to be motivated to help Jimmy, a single individual who is starving, than the 26 million children who we read about in the first story. Although the suffering is greater in the first story, our emotions are triggered by Jimmy’s story, causing us to be more likely to offer help.

Related Biases

Sources

  1. Krahé, B., Möller, I., Huesmann, L. R., Kirwil, L., Felber, J., & Berger, A. (2011). Desensitization to media violence: Links with habitual media violence exposure, aggressive cognitions, and aggressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(4), 630-646. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021711
  2. Weinstein, M. C., Shepard, D. S., & Pliskin, J. S. (1980). The economic value of changing mortality probabilities: A decision-theoretic approach. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 94(2), 373-396. https://doi.org/10.2307/1884546
  3. CBS News. (2012, September 11). Bullied bus monitor receives $700k check. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bullied-bus-monitor-receives-700k-check/
  4. U.S. breast cancer statistics. (2020, January 27). Breastcancer.org. Retrieved August 5, 2020, from https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/statistics
  5. 2018 NCI budget fact book - Research funding. (2018, December 20). National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-nci/budget/fact-book/data/research-funding
  6. Cameron, C. D., & Payne, B. K. (2011). Escaping affect: How motivated emotion regulation creates insensitivity to mass suffering. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021643
  7. Chung, E. (2016, June 24). The identifiable victim effect: When one is more than many. Classy. https://www.classy.org/blog/the-identifiable-victim-effect-when-one-is-more-than-many/
  8. Lyons, L. (1947, January 30). Loose-Leaf Notebook. The Washington Post, p. 9.
  9. Colman, A. M. (2006). Thomas C. Schelling’s psychological decision theory: Introduction to a special issue. Journal of Economic Psychology, 27(5), 603-608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2006.06.002
  10. Västfjäll, D., Slovic, P., Mayorga, M., & Peters, E. (2014). Compassion fade: Affect and charity are greatest for a single child in need. PLoS ONE, 9(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0100115

About the Authors

A man in a blue, striped shirt smiles while standing indoors, surrounded by green plants and modern office decor.

Dan Pilat

Dan is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. Dan has a background in organizational decision making, with a BComm in Decision & Information Systems from McGill University. He has worked on enterprise-level behavioral architecture at TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets, where he advised management on the implementation of systems processing billions of dollars per week. Driven by an appetite for the latest in technology, Dan created a course on business intelligence and lectured at McGill University, and has applied behavioral science to topics such as augmented and virtual reality.

A smiling man stands in an office, wearing a dark blazer and black shirt, with plants and glass-walled rooms in the background.

Dr. Sekoul Krastev

Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.

About us

We are the leading applied research & innovation consultancy

Our insights are leveraged by the most ambitious organizations

Image

“

I was blown away with their application and translation of behavioral science into practice. They took a very complex ecosystem and created a series of interventions using an innovative mix of the latest research and creative client co-creation. I was so impressed at the final product they created, which was hugely comprehensive despite the large scope of the client being of the world's most far-reaching and best known consumer brands. I'm excited to see what we can create together in the future.

Heather McKee

BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST

GLOBAL COFFEEHOUSE CHAIN PROJECT

OUR CLIENT SUCCESS

$0M

Annual Revenue Increase

By launching a behavioral science practice at the core of the organization, we helped one of the largest insurers in North America realize $30M increase in annual revenue.

0%

Increase in Monthly Users

By redesigning North America's first national digital platform for mental health, we achieved a 52% lift in monthly users and an 83% improvement on clinical assessment.

0%

Reduction In Design Time

By designing a new process and getting buy-in from the C-Suite team, we helped one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world reduce software design time by 75%.

0%

Reduction in Client Drop-Off

By implementing targeted nudges based on proactive interventions, we reduced drop-off rates for 450,000 clients belonging to USA's oldest debt consolidation organizations by 46%

Let's chat

Read Next

Regret Aversion

Why do we anticipate regret before we make a decision?

Why do we anticipate regret before we make a decision?

Learn More

Suggestibility

Why are we swayed by those around us?

Why are we swayed by those around us?

Learn More

Endowment Effect

Why do we value items more if they belong to us?

Why do we value items more if they belong to us?

Learn More
See All
Notes illustration

Eager to learn about how behavioral science can help your organization?

Contact us