A heuristic is a mental shortcut or rule of thumb you use to make judgments. Heuristics can help you to make judgments quickly and efficiently. Your textbook describes several heuristics, including the availability heuristic and the representativeness heuristic. These heuristics depend on information that is stored in your memory. Sometimes the information in your memory is not accurate. When you use a heuristic based on inaccurate information, you may make a misjudgment. If you misjudge something, you risk making a poor decision.
To prepare for this assignment:
Review Chapter 5 in your textbook, Rational Choice in an Uncertain World. Pay particular attention to the availability heuristic and the representativeness heuristic.
Think about the representativeness heuristic and how it compares to the availability heuristic.
Consider advantages and limitations of using heuristics to make judgments, and identify some examples.
The assignment (1–3 pages):
Briefly describe the representativeness heuristic and availabilty heuristic. Be specific and provide examples of each.
Compare two similarities and two differences of representativeness and availability heuristics.
Then explain at least one insight you had or conclusion you drew based on the comparision. Provide examples of one advantage and one limitation of using heuristics to make judgments.
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