For many years, newspapers often mentioned the race of criminal suspects who were NOT white in the article detailing their crimes. This often led people who were not obviously biased or prejudiced to conclude that more non-whites committed crimes than whites. This is one example of
A)the confirmation bias.
B)the hindsight bias.
C)an illusory correlation.
D)the representativeness heuristic.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The example described in the scenario is an illustration of an illusory correlation, where people perceive a relationship between two variables (in this case, non-white race and criminal behavior) when no such relationship exists. The media's focus on the race of non-white criminal suspects reinforces this illusion. The confirmation bias (A) would involve seeking out information that confirms preexisting beliefs, rather than being influenced by media coverage. Hindsight bias (B) involves believing an event was more predictable than it was after it has occurred. The representativeness heuristic (D) involves making judgments based on how closely a situation or person matches the stereotype of a particular group.

For Many Years, Newspapers Often Mentioned the Race of Criminal