Citation

Fischhoff B, Gonzalez RM, Lerner JS, Small DA. J. Exp. Psychol. Appl. 2012; 18(2): 212.

Affiliation

Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/a0027958

PMID

22708661

Abstract

Reports an error in "Evolving Judgments of Terror Risks: Foresight, Hindsight, and Emotion" by Baruch Fischhoff, Roxana M. Gonzalez, Jennifer S. Lerner and Deborah A. Small (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 2005[Jun], Vol 11[2], 124-139). It was found that the second author on the original paper, Roxana M. Gonzalez, falsified data in connection with certain research projects. Researchers not involved in this original project were engaged to repeat all analyses reported in the article, starting with the original, untainted data for the study. Based on this reanalysis, a corrected version of the article is now being published. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2005-07160-006.) The authors examined the evolution of cognitive and emotional responses to terror risks for a nationally representative sample of Americans between late 2001 and late 2002. Respondents' risk judgments changed in ways consistent with their reported personal experiences. However, they did not recognize these changes, producing hindsight bias in memories for their judgments. An intensive debiasing procedure failed to restore a foresightful perspective. A fear-inducing manipulation increased risk estimates, whereas an anger-inducing manipulation reduced them-both in predictions (as previously observed) and in memories and judgments of past risks. Thus, priming emotions shaped not only perceptions of an abstract future but also perceptions of a concrete past. These results suggest how psychological research can help to ensure an informed public. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Language: en