When you meet Joe,he tells you that he loves math and building computers and robots.You decide that Joe must be an engineering student and not a liberal arts student,even though there are more liberal arts students at your school.In making this decision,you have just used
A) the representativeness heuristic.
B) an algorithm.
C) the availability heuristic.
D) an analogy.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This decision is based on the representativeness heuristic, which is the tendency to make judgments based on a prototype or stereotype of a particular group or category. In this case, you have a stereotype of what an engineering student is like (i.e. someone who loves math and building computers and robots), and so you assume that Joe must be an engineering student rather than a liberal arts student.

When You Meet Joe,he Tells You That He Loves Math