When people overestimate the frequency of violent crimes because these events generate a great deal of media coverage, they are using
A)the availability heuristic.
B)the representativeness heuristic.
C)a holistic decision model.
D)the elimination-by-aspects strategy.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to a person's mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method, or decision. When people overestimate the frequency of violent crimes due to extensive media coverage, they are likely using the availability heuristic, as the media coverage makes examples of violent crimes more "available" in their memory, leading to an overestimation of their frequency.

When People Overestimate the Frequency of Violent Crimes Because These