In communication studies, science communication, psycholinguistics and choice theory, anecdotal value refers to the primarily social and political value of an anecdote or anecdotal evidence in promoting understanding of a social, cultural, or economic phenomenon.
While anecdotal evidence is typically unscientific, in the last several decades the evaluation of anecdotes has received sustained academic scrutiny from economists and scholars such as Felix Salmon,[1] S. G. Checkland (on David Ricardo), Steven Novella, R. Charleton, Hollis Robbins,[2] Kwamena Kwansah-Aidoo, and others.
These academics seek to quantify the value of the use of anecdotes, e.g. in promoting public awareness of a disease.
More recently, economists studying choice models have begun assessing anecdotal value in the context of framing; Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky suggest that choice models may be contingent on stories or anecdotes that frame or influence choice.
[3] As an example, consider the quote, widely misattributed to Joseph Stalin: The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic.