Catherine is on a commercial plane to the capital when she notices three Arab passengers also on the plane.She begins to feel uneasy and nervous and fears that a terrorist attack could take place.Catherine has intuitively compared the passengers to those who committed the terrorist attacks on 9/11.This is an example of
A) overconfidence.
B) the representativeness heuristic.
C) belief perseverance.
D) the availability heuristic.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is an example of the representativeness heuristic, where Catherine is relying on her perception of how typical the Arab passengers are of terrorists based on their external appearance and cultural background. She is ignoring other relevant factors and making a quick judgment based on a stereotype.

Catherine Is on a Commercial Plane to the Capital When