Christine has been following the state lottery for over a year, and she has a record of the number of times every number has been selected. She is ready to invest R1000 in lottery tickets with the same six-number combination on each ticket. She is going to choose the six numbers that have occurred the least frequently in the last year because she is sure they will be picked eventually. In this case, Christine is showing evidence of

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Christine's belief that the numbers which have occurred the least frequently are due to be picked is an example of the gambler's fallacy. This fallacy is the mistaken belief that if something happens more frequently than normal during a given period, it will happen less frequently in the future, or vice versa, in situations where the events are actually independent of each other.

Christine Has Been Following the State Lottery for Over a Year