Although there are only a few runners on your college track team, you see a woman on campus who has the physique of a runner. You decide that she's a member of the track team. Your conclusion is based on __________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The conclusion is based on the representativeness heuristic, which is the tendency to make judgments about the likelihood of an event based on how closely it resembles our existing prototype or stereotype of the event. In this case, the woman's physique resembles the stereotype of a runner, so the person assumes she is a member of the track team. There is no mention of availability heuristic, base rate information, or biased sampling in the scenario.

Although There Are Only a Few Runners on Your College