Individual Differences Explanation 2: Cognitive Biases Flashcards
Kahneman and tversky (1973)
Proposed that humans have a particular way of approaching decision-making and make judgements of probabilities known as heuristics.
What are heuristics?
Mental shortcuts used to solve a problem or make a decision, and they often involve focusing on one thing at the expense of others.
What are the two types of heuristics
Representativeness and availability.
What is representativeness?
This is the belief that random events have a pattern, and in particular that a series of events drawn from a small sample should represent what would be found in a larger sample.
What is an example of representativeness?
If people are asked to create a random sequence of 20 coin tosses they will suggest that the ratio should be 50/50 of heads to tails.
What is gamblers fallacy?
The belief that is something happens more frequently than normal it will happen less frequently in the future.
What is an example of gamblers fallacy?
Monte Carlo (1913), one roulette wheel showed a run of back 26 times in succession. Gamblers believed that red was ‘due’ and rushed to bet on red, leading to lots of money being lost.
What is availability?
Works on the principle that an event is seen as more likely if it is easier to recall from memory.
What is an example of availability?
People will overestimate the frequency of certain causes of death if they have either experienced it in a close relative or it is something commonly reported in the media.
What is an example of availability in gambling?
This might encourage people to engage in and continue with the behaviour in the mistaken belief that they are likely to win. This mistaken believe may come from media reports of lottery winners and such.
