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Stories, statistics, and memory

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas Graeber

    (University of Harvard)

  • Christopher Roth

    (University of Cologne)

  • Florian Zimmermann

    (University of Bonn)

Abstract

Widespread misperceptions shape attitudes on key societal topics, such as climate change and the recent pandemic. These belief distortions are puzzling in contexts where accurate statistical information is broadly available and attended to. This column argues that the nature of human memory may be key for understanding the persistence of misperceptions in practice. It documents that anecdotal information in the form of stories comes to mind more easily than statistical information, generating the potential for systematic belief biases.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Graeber & Christopher Roth & Florian Zimmermann, 2023. "Stories, statistics, and memory," ECONtribute Policy Brief Series 045, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:ajk:ajkpbs:045
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    File URL: https://www.econtribute.de/RePEc/ajk/ajkpbs/ECONtribute_PB_045_2023.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Benjamin Enke, 2020. "What You See Is All There Is," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(3), pages 1363-1398.
    2. Nicholas Epley & Thomas Gilovich, 2016. "The Mechanics of Motivated Reasoning," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 133-140, Summer.
    3. Benjamin Enke & Frederik Schwerter & Florian Zimmermann, 2019. "Associative Memory and Belief Formation," CESifo Working Paper Series 7916, CESifo.
    4. Peter Andrebriq & Carlo Pizzinelli & Christopher Roth & Johannes Wohlfart, 2022. "Subjective Models of the Macroeconomy: Evidence From Experts and Representative Samples," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(6), pages 2958-2991.
    5. Kfir Eliaz & Ran Spiegler, 2020. "A Model of Competing Narratives," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(12), pages 3786-3816, December.
    6. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2005. "Self-Confidence and Personal Motivation," International Economic Association Series, in: Bina Agarwal & Alessandro Vercelli (ed.), Psychology, Rationality and Economic Behaviour, chapter 2, pages 19-57, Palgrave Macmillan.
    7. Peter Andre & Ingar Haaland & Christopher Roth & Johannes Wohlfart, 2021. "Narratives about the Macroeconomy," CEBI working paper series 21-18, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    8. Thiemo Fetzer & Lukas Hensel & Johannes Hermle & Christopher Roth, 2021. "Coronavirus Perceptions and Economic Anxiety," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 103(5), pages 968-978, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Francesco Bilotta & Alberto Binetti & Giacomo Manferdini, 2025. "Blameocracy: Causal Rhetoric in Politics," Papers 2504.06550, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2025.
    2. George Loewenstein & Zachary Wojtowicz, 2023. "The Economics of Attention," CESifo Working Paper Series 10712, CESifo.
    3. Enke, Benjamin & Schwerter, Frederik & Zimmermann, Florian, 2024. "Associative memory, beliefs and market interactions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    4. Bocar A. Ba & Abdoulaye Ndiaye & Roman Rivera & Alexander Whitefield, 2024. "Mispricing Narratives after Social Unrest," NBER Working Papers 32730, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Roth, Christopher & Schwardmann, Peter & Tripodi, Egon, 2024. "Misperceived effectiveness and the demand for psychotherapy," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    6. Robin Musolff & Florian Zimmermann, 2025. "Model Uncertainty," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2025_697, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    7. Benjamin Christoffersen & Arvid Hoffmann & Zwetelina Iliewa & Lena Jaroszek, 2025. "Experience Effects on Wall Street vs. Main Street: Field and Lab Evidence of Context Dependence," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2025_684, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    8. Burdin, Gabriel & Landini, Fabio, 2025. "Beliefs and the Demand for Employee Ownership," IZA Discussion Papers 18196, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Angelico, Cristina, 2024. "The green transition and firms' expectations on future prices: Survey evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 519-543.
    10. Andrea Amelio & Florian Zimmermann, 2023. "Motivated Memory in Economics—A Review," Games, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, January.
    11. Marta Serra-Garcia, 2025. "The Attention–Information Tradeoff," CESifo Working Paper Series 11885, CESifo.
    12. Qiang Chen & Tianyang Han & Jin Li & Ye Luo & Yuxiao Wu & Xiaowei Zhang & Tuo Zhou, 2025. "Can AI Master Econometrics? Evidence from Econometrics AI Agent on Expert-Level Tasks," Papers 2506.00856, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2025.
    13. Mo, Zhexun & Kaeppel, Katharina & Schröder, Carsten & Yang, Li, 2025. "When Facts Fail: Experimental Evidence on Perceptions and Preferences towards Chinese Investments in Germany," SocArXiv 74k3v_v1, Center for Open Science.
    14. Ge, Erqi, 2025. "Political speeches and stock market performance: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    15. Ahmed, Haseeb & Giffin, Erin & Manian, Shanthi, 2025. "Memory constraints in adoption of productive technologies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).

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