Heuristics and Attributions Flashcards
Heuristics
- non-statistical rule of thumb
- simple, efficient thinking strategies
Base rates
- ignoring prior probabilities
- population influenced
Ignoring Sample-Size
finding stuff that supports your theory due to sample size
Misconception of Chance
coin toss- getting ten heads in a row and thinking you have a better chance of getting heads, still 50/50
Gambler’s Fallacy
my luck has to turn around
Regression to the mean
one large event may not be the actual mean, based on the one single observation
What does small sample size lead to
a misjudement
Representative Heuristic
based on schemas we already have
What are the categorizations of Representative Heuristic based on?
the degree that parts resemble the category
Why features are not always diagnostic or why we commit the representativeness heuristic
- Ignoring base rates
- ignoring sample size
- regression to the mean
- conjunction fallacy
Conjunction fallacy
the more narrow you make a category the less likely it is
Availability
- Estimates of chance are biased by the ease of generating examples
- Things that are easily recalled are very true
- believing natural disasters kill more people than disease because we hear about freak accidents more
What is availability heuristic driven by
accessibility: availability and contents of memory
Ease of Retrieval of availability heuristic
Less is more
Explaining phenomena in terms of:
- frequency (media bias)
- egocentric bias
- salience
Frequency (media bias)
hearing of car accidents a lot instead of hearing of heart attacks occur constantly
Egocentric bias
- it’s more likely for me to do it than somebody else
- our own behaviors stick out more than others’
Salience
how memorable something is
The Bridge Study (Dutton and Aron, 1974)
- Would you be more nervous on the stable or “scary” bridge?
- Male participants with a female researcher vs. with a male researcher
- They’d meet them halfway on both bridges
- Give them their phone number after surveying them on the bridge
- Men called more often with a female researcher on the scary bridge because they felt aroused
Attribution Theory motivated misattribution
- misattribution of arousal
- self serving (attraction not anxiety
Fritz Heider
How do we explain others’ behavior
misattribution of others
fail to consider the situation
Rational Explanation
use information on consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus to make attributions
Jones and Davis (1965)
- We infer that behaviors correspond with peoples’ intentions and dispositions
- thus, a person who says something sarcastic is a sarcastic person
