Scope neglect is a cognitive bias in which a person fails to comprehend the difference in the magnitude of numbers. A simple example is the difference between 1 billion and 1 trillion. Most people know a trillion is different, but it is difficult to imagine it is 1000 times bigger than a billion.
Scope neglect or insensitivity occurs because we are unable to visualise large numbers. When one can’t picture large numbers, they remain in abstract form, failing to create the expected level of emotional reaction.
In one study, the participants were asked what they would contribute to saving 2000, 20000 or 200,000 birds from drowning in oil-contaminated ponds. The answers were $80, $78 and $88, respectively!
