Which statement best describes the cognitive bias of representativeness?

• A. It is the tendency to rely on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions.
• B. It is the tendency to attribute people's behavior to their personality rather than situational factors.
• C. It is the tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind.
• D. It is the tendency to judge the probability of an event based on how much it resembles a typical case.

Answer: (D)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that the cognitive bias of representativeness involves making judgments about the probability or frequency of an event based on how much it resembles a typical example or prototype, rather than on actual statistical reasoning.
2. Recognize that this bias leads people to ignore base rates or actual probabilities and instead rely on similarity or stereotypes when estimating likelihoods.
3. Compare the given statements to identify which one aligns with this definition: the correct description should mention judging probability based on resemblance to a typical case.
4. Eliminate options that describe other cognitive biases, such as anchoring (relying on the first piece of information), fundamental attribution error (attributing behavior to personality), or availability heuristic (overestimating likelihood based on ease of recall).
5. Conclude that the statement 'It is the tendency to judge the probability of an event based on how much it resembles a typical case' best describes the representativeness bias.