Ease of retrieval as information: Another look at the availability heuristic
Schwarz and colleagues tested whether the experienced ease of recall, and not the number of examples recalled, changes how people judge themselves. Participants recalled either a few or many examples of assertive or unassertive behaviour and then rated their own assertiveness. Those who had to produce many examples, a hard task, rated themselves as less assertive than those who produced few, and those who recalled many unassertive behaviours rated themselves as more assertive than those who recalled many assertive ones. Self-ratings followed the content recalled only when recall felt easy. When a misattribution manipulation discredited the ease as information, the effect disappeared. The paper argues for the informative function of subjective experience.
Schwarz and colleagues tested whether the experienced ease of recall, and not the number of examples recalled, changes how people judge themselves. Participants recalled either a few or many examples of assertive or unassertive behaviour and then rated their own assertiveness. Those who had to produce many examples, a hard task, rated themselves as less assertive than those who produced few, and those who recalled many unassertive behaviours rated themselves as more assertive than those who recalled many assertive ones. Self-ratings followed the content recalled only when recall felt easy. When a misattribution manipulation discredited the ease as information, the effect disappeared. The paper argues for the informative function of subjective experience.
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Schwarz, N., Bless, H., Strack, F., Klumpp, G., Rittenauer-Schatka, H., & Simons, A. (1991). Ease of retrieval as information: Another look at the availability heuristic. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(2), 195-202. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.61.2.195