Identifiable victim effect

The "identifiable victim effect" refers to the tendency of individuals to offer greater aid when a specific, identifiable person ("victim") is observed under hardship, as compared to a large, vaguely defined group with the same need. The effect is also observed when subjects administer punishment rather than reward. Research has shown that individuals can be more likely to mete out punishment, even at their own expense, when they are punishing specific, identifiable individuals ("perpetrators").

Concrete images and representations are often more powerful sources of persuasion than are abstract statistics. For example, Ryan White contracted HIV at age 13 and struggled with the disease until succumbing some six years later. Following his death, the US congress passed the Ryan White Care Act, which funded the largest set of services for people living with the AIDS in the country.

The effect is epitomized by the phrase (commonly attributed to Joseph Stalin), "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic."

The conceptualization of the identifiable victim effect as it is known today is commonly attributed to American economist Thomas Schelling. He wrote that harm to a particular person invokes “anxiety and sentiment, guilt and awe, responsibility and religion, [but]…most of this awesomeness disappears when we deal with statistical death”.

The decision to save an identifiable victim is made ex post, meaning it is done after the victim is in danger. In contrast, the decision to save a statistical victim is made ex ante, meaning it is done as a pre-emptive measure to prevent the individual from being in danger. When people consider the risks of not helping a victim, they consider the probability of being responsible and blamed. This probability is much greater with identifiable victims than with statistical victims because one cannot accurately predict the likelihood of a tragedy occurring in the future and thus cannot be held responsible for tragedies that might occur in the future.

This explanation is closest to what Thomas Schelling implied in his now-famous paper.

Identifiable victims, as their name suggests, have features that make them identifiable. Details about their predicament, family background, educational history, etc, are shared through the media and brought to public attention. The stories are emotional, with victims often portrayed as innocent and helpless. Images and videos of the victim are often shared, and the public is able to follow the victim’s predicament in real-time. Studies have previously indicated that people respond more to concrete, graphic information than abstract, statistical information. Therefore, identifiable victims elicit greater reactions from people than statistical victims.

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