James was walking near a dog park when he saw what he thought was a rather large, short, oddly colored dog being walked on a leash. It took him a moment to realize that he was not looking at a dog but at a pot-bellied pig. James has fallen prey to the ________.
A) probability heuristic
B) representativeness heuristic
C) confirmation heuristic
D) convergence heuristic

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

James has fallen prey to the representativeness heuristic, which is a mental shortcut that involves making a probability judgment by comparing an object or event to a prototype of the object or event. He mistook the pot-bellied pig for a dog because it shared some superficial characteristics with his mental representation of a dog.

James Was Walking near a Dog Park When He Saw