Asked by Mohit Chandwani on Jul 12, 2024
Verified
People sometimes form a stereotype about members of a certain group because they remember a few people who fit the stereotype and forget those who do not fit it. Reasoning of this type is an example of the
A) Stroop effect.
B) use of algorithms.
C) availability heuristic.
D) use of base-rate information.
Availability Heuristic
An instinctive mental tactic that uses the nearest instances that surface in thought while considering a certain topic, theory, strategy, or judgment.
Base-Rate Information
Base-rate information refers to the statistical likelihood of an event or characteristic within a given population, used in decision-making processes.
Stroop Effect
A demonstration of cognitive interference where the brain's reaction time slows down when processing conflicting information, such as reading the word "green" printed in red color.
- Acknowledge the effect of cognitive shortcuts, such as the availability heuristic, on the judgment and decision-making operations.
Verified Answer
SG
Scarlette GarfiasJul 14, 2024
Final Answer :
C
Explanation :
The situation described in the question is an example of the availability heuristic, which is a mental shortcut where people judge the likelihood or frequency of an event based on how easily examples of it come to mind. In this case, people remember a few individuals who fit a stereotype, which makes those examples more accessible in memory and leads them to overestimate how representative those individuals are of the entire group.
Learning Objectives
- Acknowledge the effect of cognitive shortcuts, such as the availability heuristic, on the judgment and decision-making operations.