Judith is a third-year undergraduate student who lists her interests as computer gaming,programming,and helping others.Based on this description,you might assume that Judith is more likely to be a computer science major than a psychology major.Your judgment is likely based on the __________ heuristic but might be wrong due to the __________.
A)availability;base rate fallacy
B)representative;overconfidence bias
C)availability;overconfidence bias
D)representative;base rate fallacy

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The judgment is likely based on the representative heuristic because Judith's interests are representative of someone who might major in computer science. However, the judgment might be wrong due to the base rate fallacy, which is the tendency to ignore statistical information in favor of individual case information. In this case, the base rate for computer science majors may be lower than psychology majors, meaning that even if Judith's interests are representative of a computer science major, there may still be a higher likelihood that she is a psychology major.

Judith Is a Third-Year Undergraduate Student Who Lists Her Interests