A particular company employs 100 people; 80 are lawyers; and 20 are engineers.Albert,an employee at the company,is quiet,enjoys puzzles,and carries a calculator.Most people,when asked whether Albert is a lawyer or an engineer,will guess that he is an engineer.People are using the _______ heuristic to make this potentially faulty guess.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The representativeness heuristic is when people make judgments based on how well an example fits a certain prototype or stereotype. In this case, people are likely guessing that Albert is an engineer because he fits the stereotype of being quiet, liking puzzles, and carrying a calculator, which are traits often associated with engineers. However, this guess is potentially faulty because there are far more lawyers than engineers in the company, so the base rate should also be taken into account.

A Particular Company Employs 100 People; 80 Are Lawyers; and 20