Context Effect
Information is processed differently depending on the context in which it is presented.
Context effects are the aspects of cognitive processing in which the context in which something is perceived can affect that perception. When a letter is placed within a word it becomes easier to read it correctly due to the context of the word. The context in which prices are shown (luxury vs. budget environment) changes how consumers evaluate value.
What it looks like in the wild.
- Marketing Luxury Store Context A $300 watch feels affordable in a Rolex store but expensive in a pharmacy.
Recognising a definition is not the same skill as spotting it.
Two scenarios from the app, with distractors drawn from the same family of biases — which is what makes them hard.
Maria is choosing between two identical job offers. One company describes the salary as '€50,000', while the other describes it as '€4,800 per month'. She feels the monthly salary sounds more impressive and chooses the second job, even though the annual total is the same.
A person finds a song more emotionally moving when hearing it live at a concert, even though the studio version is sonically identical, because the communal atmosphere and venue context amplify the emotional impact of the music.
Biases rarely arrive alone.
Understand more. Assume less.
188 biases, 18,869 scenarios, and a record of how you actually decide.
Get Debias on Google Play