Open Problem 07

Story Without Bias

Can a story make people feel the scale of a problem rather than one face, and does it move money toward larger needs?

Status: open
What would count as progress

A replicated experiment in which a storytelling format shifts giving toward larger needs without lowering total giving.

Why it matters

The Story Bias draws on attention research, including findings whose strength and replication remain debated. In the classic study, explaining the bias did not increase donations to statistical appeals. The fix has to work with human attention, not against it.

Where to start

Existing research on identifiable victims and psychic numbing gives the baseline effects to beat. Formats to test include stories of communities rather than individuals, visualizations of scale and stories about sources rather than symptoms.