In cognitive psychology, which type of bias involves relying on a false stereotype to make a decision?

• A. Representativeness bias
• B. Availability bias
• C. Confirmation bias
• D. Anchoring bias

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment, which often lead to perceptual distortion or illogical interpretation.
2. Identify the key concept in the question: relying on a false stereotype to make a decision. This suggests a bias where people judge the probability or frequency of an event by how much it resembles a typical case or stereotype.
3. Recall the definitions of the biases listed: Availability bias involves relying on immediate examples that come to mind; Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions; Anchoring bias is the reliance on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions.
4. Recognize that Representativeness bias is the tendency to judge the likelihood of an event by how much it resembles the typical case or stereotype, even if this leads to ignoring relevant statistical information.
5. Conclude that the bias involving reliance on a false stereotype to make a decision is the Representativeness bias.