--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most people give substantial weight to…" description: "\"“Most people give substantial weight to anecdotal evidence, perhaps so much that it will cancel out positive recommendations found in consumer reports...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d59/barry-schwartz-19557_quote_most-people-give-substantial-weight-to-a_2125711.jpg" --- # Most people give substantial weight to anecdotal evidence… ![“Most people give substantial weight to anecdotal evidence, perhaps so much that it will cancel out positive recommendations found in consumer reports. People's tendency to give undue weight to some types of information is called the availability heuristic. A heuristic is a rule of thumb, a mental…” quote by Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d59/barry-schwartz-19557_quote_most-people-give-substantial-weight-to-a_2125711.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d59/barry-schwartz-19557_quote_most-people-give-substantial-weight-to-a_2125711.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d59/barry-schwartz-19557_quote_most-people-give-substantial-weight-to-a_2125711.jpg) > ““Most people give substantial weight to anecdotal evidence, perhaps so much that it will cancel out positive recommendations found in consumer reports. People's tendency to give undue weight to some types of information is called the availability heuristic. A heuristic is a rule of thumb, a mental shortcut. Suppose someone asked you a question like what's more common in English, words that start with the letter to r words that have t as the third letter. You would have an easier time generating words that started with the letter t. Words starting with t would be more 'available'.”” [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People overvalue personal stories over statistical data, leading to biased decisions known as the availability heuristic. **In simple terms:** Anecdotes outweigh data in our minds. Key Takeaway Seek balanced evidence before deciding. Themes cognition decision‑making bias information psychology Mood thoughtful critical Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - consumer choices - policy design - personal judgments - media consumption Key Concepts availability heuristic mental shortcuts statistical reasoning Questions to Reflect On - How can we train ourselves to recognize availability bias? - What role should experts play in correcting public misconceptions? A Different Perspective Relying solely on anecdotes can mislead important choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“On another occasion, Amos and I wondered about the rate of divorce among professors in our university. We noticed that the question triggered a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/on-another-occasion-amos-and-i-wondered-about-the-rate-of-divorce/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“For example, students of policy have noted that the availability heuristic helps explain why some issues are highly salient in the public’s mind while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/for-example-students-of-policy-have-noted-that-the-availability/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“The answer was straightforward: instances of the class will be retrieved from memory, and if retrieval is easy and fluent, the category will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-answer-was-straightforward-instances-of-the-class-will-be/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“There's a point where anecdotal evidence becomes truth”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/there-s-a-point-where-anecdotal-evidence-becomes-truth/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [“while anecdotal evidence suggests that lions might still be present in small numbers, a survey undertaken over four months in 2008/09 for the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-briggs/while-anecdotal-evidence-suggests-that-lions-might-still-be-present/) Philip Briggs > [“I reason that I can take 36 hours of pretty much anything. This is willfully off-base logic with zero anecdotal evidence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-reason-that-i-can-take-36-hours-of-pretty-much-anything-this-is/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [Heuristic is an algorithm in a clown suit. It’s less predictable, it’s more fun, and it comes without a 30-day, money-back guarantee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/heuristic-is-an-algorithm-in-a-clown-suit-it-s-less-predictable-it-s/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [“The conclusion is that the ease with which instances come to mind is a System 1 heuristic, which is replaced by a focus on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-conclusion-is-that-the-ease-with-which-instances-come-to-mind-is/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [The materialistic point of view in psychology can claim, at best, only the value of an heuristic hypothesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-wundt/the-materialistic-point-of-view-in-psychology-can-claim-at-best-only/) [Wilhelm Wundt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-wundt/) > [“(from chapter 29, "Write In a Book What You See") "heuristic writing - writing to explore and discover what I didn't know. Writing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/from-chapter-29-write-in-a-book-what-you-see-heuristic-writing/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [“An algorithm gives you the instructions directly. A heuristic tells you how to discover the instructions for yourself, or at least where to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/an-algorithm-gives-you-the-instructions-directly-a-heuristic-tells/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [By their very nature, heuristic shortcuts will produce biases, and that is true for both humans and artificial intelligence, but the heuristics of AI…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/by-their-very-nature-heuristic-shortcuts-will-produce-biases-and-that/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“There is voluminous evidence that exclusive reliance on heuristic processing tendencies of Type I sometimes results in suboptimal responding (Baron, 2008; Evans, 2007a; Gilovich,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-e-stanovich/there-is-voluminous-evidence-that-exclusive-reliance-on-heuristic/) [Keith E. Stanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-e-stanovich/) > [Research programmes, besides their negative heuristic, are also characterized by their positive heuristic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-lakatos/research-programmes-besides-their-negative-heuristic-are-also/) [Imre Lakatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-lakatos/) > [“people rely on a limited number of heuristic principles which reduce the complex tasks of assessing probabilities and predicting values to simpler judgmental operations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/people-rely-on-a-limited-number-of-heuristic-principles-which-reduce/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) ## More by Barry Schwartz > [When you rely on incentives, you undermine virtues. Then when you discover that you actually need people who want to do the right thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/when-you-rely-on-incentives-you-undermine-virtues-then-when-you/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [“Emotions properly trained and modulated, Aristotle told his readers, are essential to being practically wise: We can experience fear, confidence, desire, anger, pity, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/emotions-properly-trained-and-modulated-aristotle-told-his-readers/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [“When asked about what they regret most in the last six months, people tend to identify actions that didn’t meet expectations. But when asked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/when-asked-about-what-they-regret-most-in-the-last-six-months-people/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [“If society asks more of us, and arranges its social institutions appropriately, it will get more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/if-society-asks-more-of-us-and-arranges-its-social-institutions/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [Years of research in psychology has shown that rewards and punishments can be very effective in changing behavior. But, at the same time, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/years-of-research-in-psychology-has-shown-that-rewards-and/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [“Being able to criticize our own certainties is often a painful struggle, demanding some courage as we try to stand back and impartially judge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/being-able-to-criticize-our-own-certainties-is-often-a-painful/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [“According to standard economic assumptions, the only opportunity costs that should figure into a decision are the ones associated with the next-best alternative.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/according-to-standard-economic-assumptions-the-only-opportunity-costs/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [“We give disproportionate weight to whether yogurt is said to be five percent fat or 95 percent fat free. People seem to think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/we-give-disproportionate-weight-to-whether-yogurt-is-said-to-be-five/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [Too little attention is paid to the dark side of incentives. They are anything but a magic bullet. Psychologists have known this for years,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/too-little-attention-is-paid-to-the-dark-side-of-incentives-they-are/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [“Focus on what makes you happy, and do what gives meaning to your life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/focus-on-what-makes-you-happy-and-do-what-gives-meaning-to-your-life/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [How much does it really matter whether your child will soon be enjoying a first year at Harvard or Yale or will instead end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/how-much-does-it-really-matter-whether-your-child-will-soon-be/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [What I look for in any book is an argument, based on evidence, that changes the way I think about something important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/what-i-look-for-in-any-book-is-an-argument-based-on-evidence-that/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [“Happiness as a goal is a recipe for disaster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/happiness-as-a-goal-is-a-recipe-for-disaster/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [I start with an idea that is no more than a paragraph long, and expand it slowly into an outline. But I'm always surprised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/i-start-with-an-idea-that-is-no-more-than-a-paragraph-long-and-expand/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) > [“to be satisfied with our work, we typically need a belief in the purpose of what we do. Amy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/to-be-satisfied-with-our-work-we-typically-need-a-belief-in-the/) [Barry Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) [Explore all 32 Barry Schwartz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/) ## More Heuristic quotes > [“The conclusion is that the ease with which instances come to mind is a System 1 heuristic, which is replaced by a focus on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-conclusion-is-that-the-ease-with-which-instances-come-to-mind-is/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“people rely on a limited number of heuristic principles which reduce the complex tasks of assessing probabilities and predicting values to simpler judgmental operations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/people-rely-on-a-limited-number-of-heuristic-principles-which-reduce/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“The answer was straightforward: instances of the class will be retrieved from memory, and if retrieval is easy and fluent, the category will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-answer-was-straightforward-instances-of-the-class-will-be/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“(from chapter 29, "Write In a Book What You See") "heuristic writing - writing to explore and discover what I didn't know. Writing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/from-chapter-29-write-in-a-book-what-you-see-heuristic-writing/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [The materialistic point of view in psychology can claim, at best, only the value of an heuristic hypothesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-wundt/the-materialistic-point-of-view-in-psychology-can-claim-at-best-only/) [Wilhelm Wundt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-wundt/) > [Heuristic is an algorithm in a clown suit. It’s less predictable, it’s more fun, and it comes without a 30-day, money-back guarantee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/heuristic-is-an-algorithm-in-a-clown-suit-it-s-less-predictable-it-s/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [“For example, students of policy have noted that the availability heuristic helps explain why some issues are highly salient in the public’s mind while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/for-example-students-of-policy-have-noted-that-the-availability/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“An algorithm gives you the instructions directly. A heuristic tells you how to discover the instructions for yourself, or at least where to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/an-algorithm-gives-you-the-instructions-directly-a-heuristic-tells/) [Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/) > [By their very nature, heuristic shortcuts will produce biases, and that is true for both humans and artificial intelligence, but the heuristics of AI…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/by-their-very-nature-heuristic-shortcuts-will-produce-biases-and-that/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“There is voluminous evidence that exclusive reliance on heuristic processing tendencies of Type I sometimes results in suboptimal responding (Baron, 2008; Evans, 2007a; Gilovich,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-e-stanovich/there-is-voluminous-evidence-that-exclusive-reliance-on-heuristic/) [Keith E. Stanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-e-stanovich/) > [Research programmes, besides their negative heuristic, are also characterized by their positive heuristic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imre-lakatos/research-programmes-besides-their-negative-heuristic-are-also/) [Imre Lakatos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imre-lakatos/) > [“heuristic that favors simpler answers—with fewer factors, or less computation—offers precisely these “less is more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-christian/heuristic-that-favors-simpler-answers-with-fewer-factors-or-less/) [Brian Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-christian/) > [The psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer has a simple heuristic. Never ask the doctor what you should do. Ask him what he would do if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/the-psychologist-gerd-gigerenzer-has-a-simple-heuristic-never-ask-the/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Of course, this is a heuristic, which is a fancy way of saying that it doesn't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-jason-dominus/of-course-this-is-a-heuristic-which-is-a-fancy-way-of-saying-that-it/) [Mark Jason Dominus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-jason-dominus/) > [“On another occasion, Amos and I wondered about the rate of divorce among professors in our university. We noticed that the question triggered a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/on-another-occasion-amos-and-i-wondered-about-the-rate-of-divorce/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) Browse all 16 Heuristic quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Most people give substantial weight to anecdotal evidence, perhaps so much that it will cancel out positive recommendations found in consumer reports. People's tendency to give undue weight to some types of information is called the availability heuristic. A heuristic is a rule of thumb, a mental shortcut. Suppose someone asked you a question like what's more common in English, words that start with the letter to r words that have t as the third letter. You would have an easier time generating words that started with the letter t. Words starting with t would be more 'available'.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barry Schwartz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/most-people-give-substantial-weight-to-anecdotal-evidence-perhaps-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Heuristic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/most-people-give-substantial-weight-to-anecdotal-evidence-perhaps-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d59/barry-schwartz-19557_quote_most-people-give-substantial-weight-to-a_2125711.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d59/barry-schwartz-19557_quote_most-people-give-substantial-weight-to-a_2125711.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d59/barry-schwartz-19557_quote_most-people-give-substantial-weight-to-a_2125711.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most people give substantial weight to anecdotal evidence, perhaps so much that it will cancel out positive…” — Barry Schwartz", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barry Schwartz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-schwartz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Most people give substantial weight to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/most-people-give-substantial-weight-to-anecdotal-evidence-perhaps-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-schwartz/most-people-give-substantial-weight-to-anecdotal-evidence-perhaps-so/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```