In one version of the selection task, participants are told to turn over cards to verify the rule "If there is a vowel on one side of the card, there must be an even number on the other." One-third of the participants turn over only the card showing a vowel. This error may be seen as exemplifying __________.
A) the confirmation bias
B) the representativeness heuristic
C) the availability heuristic
D) pragmatic reasoning

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This error is an example of the confirmation bias, which is the tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms one's pre-existing beliefs or hypotheses. In this case, the participants may have had a preconceived notion that they only needed to check the vowels to verify the rule, leading them to ignore other potentially relevant information on the cards.

In One Version of the Selection Task, Participants Are Told