This is a Lexicon entry: the mechanism, when it shows up, and the countermeasure. The full correction, with real-world cases and the audit prompt, hasn't been written yet.
Definition
The failure of moral and emotional concern to scale with the size of a problem. People donate roughly the same amount to save 2,000 birds as to save 200,000 birds. Emotional responses simply do not register the difference between one life and a million.
When it shows up
Charitable giving decisions (donating similar amounts to save 2,000 versus 200,000 birds). Policy valuation using surveys. Any judgment about quantities larger than the mind represents as distinct.
Failure mode
The emotional response is triggered by the image of one bird, one child, one victim. Scaling the image to large numbers does not scale the emotional response. Willingness-to-pay saturates at the level set by the mental image, not by the actual magnitude.
Countermeasure
Do the explicit arithmetic. Divide the total resource by the number affected; compare cost-per-unit across scopes. The mind's emotional scaling will not track the math so use the math.
Related concepts
Also connected in the mapDuration Neglect·The Peak-End Rule·Jerusalem Syndrome·Identifiable Victim Effect·Neglect of Probability·Compassion Fade·Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis·The Great Filter Hypothesis·Mission Creep
Origin
Also revealed
Entry #48 of 631 in The Lexicon · see the full Lexicon