In an Experiment, Participants Were Told of a Previously Unknown

question 15

Multiple Choice

In an experiment, participants were told of a previously unknown tribe living on a Pacific island. Only one member of this tribe had been observed so far and was found to be obese. When asked how likely it was that all members of the tribe were obese, participants were unwilling to extrapolate this information. This shows that participants:

• A) were using the representative heuristic
• B) had prior beliefs about these islanders
• C) are sometimes sensitive to the sample size and can take this into account when making a judgment
• D) are unwilling to make a judgment as they are wary of making an error

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Definitions:

Substitute

An alternative or replacement for someone or something, often used in contexts ranging from education to food products.

Confederate Government

The government formed by the southern states that seceded from the United States from 1861 to 1865.

Basic Premise

The fundamental idea or underlying principle upon which a concept, theory, or system is based.