What it is
A self-reinforcing loop in which a claim gains plausibility simply because it is repeated in public discussion, which makes it more available, which makes it repeated more.
Example A minor risk becomes a national panic as media coverage feeds public worry and back.
Related
References
- Wikipedia: Availability cascade en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia: List of cognitive biases en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia: Cognitive bias codex en.wikipedia.org
More in “What we notice: filtering too much information”
Confirmation biasAvailability heuristicAnchoringFraming effectNegativity biasSurvivorship biasIllusory truth effectSalience biasPrimacy and recency effectsContrast effectMere-exposure effectBelief biasBias blind spotDunning-Kruger effectSelf-selection biasCurse of knowledgeInformation biasFeature-positive effectInattentional blindness