Javari is teaching a psychology class and tells his students, "Kenna is 31, single, outspoken, and bright. She majored in philos
ophy in college. As a student, Kenna was deeply concerned with discrimination and other social issues." When Javari asked his class if it was more likely that Kenna was A) a bank teller or B) a bank teller AND a feminist, most people in his class chose option B. Javari explained that their answer was incorrect because their _____________ heuristic led them astray.
Representativeness heuristic bias is a type of bias that occurs when there is similarity of objects or events which leads to confusion of people’s thinking regarding the probability of an outcome.
In most cases people tend to believe that two similar things or events are more closely correlated than they actually are. This is a common information processing error especially behavioral finance theory.
In the illustration people will tend to believe or form a bias that being a banker and and outspoken person will be a feminist, without considering that she may be an exception.
