Last week,Alana saw a television show about a rare,but fatal,virus.Now,she has a runny nose and a fever and thinks she has contracted the virus.Alana's thinking is most likely based on
A) the representativeness heuristic.
B) using framing.
C) the availability heuristic.
D) an algorithm.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Alana's thinking is most likely based on the availability heuristic, which is the tendency to make judgments based on the ease with which examples come to mind. In this case, Alana saw a TV show about a rare virus, which made it more available in her mind and therefore more likely for her to believe she has contracted it when experiencing symptoms. The other options do not seem to be applicable in this scenario.

Last Week,Alana Saw a Television Show About a Rare,but Fatal,virus