People often overestimate the danger of shark attacks because it is fairly easy to think of news stories and reports of shark attacks. This is an example of how the _____ can sometimes lead to poor judgments.
A) availability heuristic
B) anchoring effect
C) functional fixedness effect
D) representativeness heuristic

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is a cognitive bias where people judge the likelihood of events based on how easily they can recall similar events or examples. In this case, people overestimate the danger of shark attacks because news stories and reports of such attacks are readily available and easily recalled, leading to poor judgments about the actual likelihood of being attacked by a shark.

People Often Overestimate the Danger of Shark Attacks Because It