Heuristics Flashcards
(10 cards)
What is heuristics and compliance?
We must make efficient decisions in an uncertain world
System 1 is fast and focused
- we must preserve System 1 worldviews
- may cause incorrect inferences and suboptimal decisions
What is the availability heuristic?
Estimating likelihood of events based on ease by which info from existing worldviews comes to mind.
Tversky + Kahneman
- availability - fame
Explain Russo, Shoemaker + Lichtenstein’s study into availability heuristics
Studied what people thought led to more deaths per year
Compared:
Stomach cancer/ Traffic accidents
Tuberculosis/ Fire
Found that people had a higher estimate for what was risky based on how often the scenario had been in the paper
- even if actual frequencies were different
What is a representative heuristic?
Interpreting events based on preformed categories/ expectations
Eg Linda often marches for civil rights, has glasses and has strong opinions
80% said she was a bank teller and feminist
20% said she was just a bank teller
What is verification approach?
Checking for diagnostic attributes that confirm the answer to a question
Eg Is Oliver an extravert
- look for attributes such as likes parties, has lots of friends etc
Similar to confirmation bias
What are illusory patterns in context of representativeness heuristics?
Many phenomena are random
The representativeness heuristic biases us to see an expected pattern where there is none
What is Foot-in-the-Door compliance?
Comply with a small initial request - comply with a later larger request
Explain Freedman + Fraser’s study into foot in the door compliance
Dependent measure
- women were asked to put ugly ‘drive carefully’ sign in front garden
Experimental manipulation
- some women first agreed to sign petition for safe driving, others were not asked
17% complied in absence of previous request
55% complied when agreed to initial request
More likely to comply when bound by previous request
What is Door-in-the-Face in context of compliance?
Refuse initial large request - Comply with later small request
Explain Cialdini’s study into door in the face compliance
Dependent measure
- students asked to chaperon group of juvenile delinquents to zoo
Experimental manipulation
- some first refused to spend 2 hours a week counselling JD, others had not been asked
17% agree in absence of initial request
50% agree if refused initial request
More likely to agree out of guilt for refusing initial request
