The representativeness heuristic causes people to think that families with four children are more likely to have
A) four children of the same sex.
B) two boys and two girls.
C) three boys and one girl.
D) three girls and one boy.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The representativeness heuristic operates on the principle that people tend to judge probabilities or likelihoods based on how representative or similar an event or object is to a typical or familiar example. In this case, the most familiar or typical family structure is one that has two parents and two children, typically a boy and a girl. However, if a family has four children, it is still more likely to have a combination of two boys and two girls, rather than all of the same sex or three of one sex and one of the other. Therefore, option B is the best choice.

The Representativeness Heuristic Causes People to Think That Families with Four