The mayor of a large city announced that the incidence of major crimes was down for the third year in a row. Yet a poll of residents who regularly watched the evening news on TV revealed that they still felt the frequency of criminal acts was high, and they felt unsafe living in the city. Which rule of thumb was responsible for the persistence of the residents' fears?
A)Representativeness heuristic
B)Persistence heuristic
C)Anchoring and adjustment heuristic
D)Availability heuristic

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The residents' fear is based on the availability heuristic, which is the tendency to rely on easily accessible and vivid information (in this case, news reports of crimes) when making judgments about the frequency of events. Even if the actual incidence of crimes has decreased, their perception of the city as unsafe may be influenced more by the ease with which crime-related information is remembered and recalled.

The Mayor of a Large City Announced That the Incidence