The Availability Heuristic Refers to Our Tendency to

question 41

Multiple Choice

The availability heuristic refers to our tendency to

• A) overestimate the accuracy of our judgments.
• B) estimate the likelihood of an event based on how easily we remember instances of its occurrence.
• C) search for information that is consistent with our preconceptions.
• D) cling to our initial conceptions,even though they have been discredited.

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Definitions:

Experimental Group

The participants in an experiment who receive the drug or other treatment under study—that is, those who are exposed to the change that the independent variable represents.

Placebo Effect

A phenomenon in which a person experiences a physiological or psychological improvement after being given a treatment with no therapeutic value.

Anxiety Disorder

A category of mental health diagnoses that lead to excessive nervousness, fear, apprehension, and worry.

Independent Variable

The variable in an experiment that is manipulated to see if it causes an effect on some other variable.