In a psychology study, people are asked which is more likely: an earthquake that kills 100,000 people or an earthquake in California that kills 100,000 people. Far more people will say that the earthquake in California is more likely, even though there are clearly more earthquakes than there are earthquakes in California. This is an example of the:
A) confirmation bias
B) framing effect
C) representativeness heuristic
D) availability heuristic

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of the representativeness heuristic, where people judge the probability of an event based on how much it resembles their existing stereotypes or knowledge, rather than on statistical reasoning.

In a Psychology Study, People Are Asked Which Is More