AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -What is the representativeness heuristic? The representativeness heuristic is a mental shortcut that we use when estimating probabilities. When we’re trying to assess how likely a certain event is, we often make our decision by assessing how similar it is to an existing mental prototype.

Detailed explanation-2: -Representativeness heuristics are biased judgments made in everyday life. An example of a representativeness heuristic is thinking that because someone is wearing a suit and tie and carrying a briefcase, that they must be a lawyer, because they look like the stereotype of a lawyer.

Detailed explanation-3: -When you see a person with their hood up in a dark alley and you decide to subtly walk past a bit faster, your brain has probably used a heuristic to evaluate the situation instead of a full thought-out deliberation process.

Detailed explanation-4: -The three heuristics that received most attention were availability, representativeness, and anchoring and adjustment. The availability heuristic refers to the tendency to assess the probability of an event based on the ease with which instances of that event come to mind.