Glossary A

Deutsch: Verfügbarkeitskaskade / Español: Cascada de disponibilidad / Português: Cascata de disponibilidade / Français: Cascade de disponibilité / Italiano: Cascata di disponibilità

An Availability Cascade is a self-reinforcing cycle in which a collective belief gains increasing plausibility through its repeated public expression, often driven by media amplification and social dynamics. Originating in behavioral economics and cognitive psychology, this phenomenon illustrates how perceptions of risk or importance can become distorted as they spread through society, even in the absence of objective evidence. It highlights the interplay between individual cognition and group behavior, demonstrating how shared narratives can override rational assessment.

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Availability heuristic refers to a mental rule of thumb whereby people base a judgment on the ease with which they can bring something to mind.

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Average refers to the number derived by adding up all the test scores and dividing the total by the number of pupils who took the test.

Average children is a term applied to children’s popularity, children who are liked and disliked by different classmates, but with relatively little intensity

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Average life expectancy refers to the age at which half of the people born in a particular year will have died; an estimate of the average number of years a group of people will live

Average longevity refers to the length of time it takes for half of all people born in a certain year to die.

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Average-status children refer to children who receive an average number of nominations as a liked and/or a disliked individual from members of their peer group

Averaging versus adding model refers to a model proposed by Anderson that postulates that our impressions are based more on the average value of each impression than on the sum of th

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