People judge this sequence of coin tosses-- heads-heads-heads-heads-heads -- as less likely than this sequence -- heads-tails-heads-heads-tails-tails-heads -- because of _______.
A)the confidence heuristic
B)the representativeness heuristic *
C)the availability heuristic
D)the expected-utility model

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The representativeness heuristic refers to the tendency to judge the likelihood of an event based on how well it matches a particular prototype or stereotype. In this case, the first sequence of all heads does not match our prototype of what a typical sequence of coin tosses should look like, so people judge it as less likely than the second sequence that includes both heads and tails, which is more representative of what we expect from random coin tosses.

People Judge This Sequence of Coin Tosses-- Heads-Heads-Heads-Heads-Heads -- as Less