The Golden and the Rabbit: The Context Effect

#CognitiveTale of the week:

The Golden and the Rabbit: The Context Effect

Once there lived a farmer who, among other things, raised rabbits for pets and companions for the children. One day, when the farmer and his family were out at the market to sell hay, a family of foxes came by. "I am tired of eating berries. Let's eat some of the rabbits instead!" said one of the foxes. The foxes found a way into the rabbit pen, but the rabbits made such a commotion that it awoke the family's golden retriever, who quickly came running around the barn, barking to ward off the intruding foxes. Hearing the dog, the foxes quickly escaped, but not before they managed to steal two of the poor bunnies. As a precaution, the golden retriever stayed in the rabbit pen until the farmers returned home.

Upon their return, the farmers found their golden retriever sleeping in the rabbit pen, and they noticed the fence had been pulled back. "Father, Father," cried one of the children, "the dog has broken into the rabbit pen, and there are two rabbits missing!" The poor golden retriever was scolded harshly.

A few days later, the family of foxes returned. They broke into the rabbit pen and grabbed a red, short-haired bunny rabbit and dragged the poor bunny away. The golden retriever heard the cries and ran to the sound of the rabbit. The strong golden retriever quickly ran down the foxes, who dropped their rabbit. The dog picked up the rabbit in his mouth as she would her puppies and ran back to the farm.

The farmer came to investigate all the commotion and saw the golden retriever with the rabbit in her mouth. "Leave those rabbits alone!" the farmer scolded the golden retriever.

We jump to conclusions without context rather than looking at the whole picture—This is the Context Effect.

#TheCognitiveTales #CognitiveBias #LogicalFallacies #TheContextEffect

Learn more about Cognitive Bias: https://a.co/d/hnUK64v