Human Interest or Hard Numbers? Experiments on Citizens' Selection, Exposure, and Recall of Performance Information
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Human Interest or Hard Numbers? Experiments on Citizens' Selection, Exposure, and Recall of Performance Information. / Olsen, Asmus Leth.
In: Public Administration Review, Vol. 77, No. 3, 01.05.2017, p. 408-420.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Human Interest or Hard Numbers?
T2 - Experiments on Citizens' Selection, Exposure, and Recall of Performance Information
AU - Olsen, Asmus Leth
PY - 2017/5/1
Y1 - 2017/5/1
N2 - The abundance of quantitative performance information has motivated multiple studies about how citizens make sense of “hard” performance data. However, research in psychology emphasizes that episodic information (e.g., case stories) often leaves a greater mark on citizens. This contradiction is tested using multiple experiments embedded in a large, nationally representative sample of Danish citizens. The results stress three differences between statistical and episodic data. Citizens have strong preferences for statistical data when asked to evaluate an organization. However, episodic information has in some instances a stronger impact on citizens’ evaluations of an organization and often is more emotionally engaging than statistics. Finally, when asked to immediately recall recent performance information about public services, citizens report more elaborate information about personalized stories and experiences than about statistics. Overall, the results raise questions about the ability of hard performance data to dominate and crowd out episodic performance information.
AB - The abundance of quantitative performance information has motivated multiple studies about how citizens make sense of “hard” performance data. However, research in psychology emphasizes that episodic information (e.g., case stories) often leaves a greater mark on citizens. This contradiction is tested using multiple experiments embedded in a large, nationally representative sample of Danish citizens. The results stress three differences between statistical and episodic data. Citizens have strong preferences for statistical data when asked to evaluate an organization. However, episodic information has in some instances a stronger impact on citizens’ evaluations of an organization and often is more emotionally engaging than statistics. Finally, when asked to immediately recall recent performance information about public services, citizens report more elaborate information about personalized stories and experiences than about statistics. Overall, the results raise questions about the ability of hard performance data to dominate and crowd out episodic performance information.
U2 - 10.1111/puar.12638
DO - 10.1111/puar.12638
M3 - Journal article
VL - 77
SP - 408
EP - 420
JO - Public Administration Review
JF - Public Administration Review
SN - 0033-3352
IS - 3
ER -
ID: 173628498