Tversky and Kahneman Study (Availability Heuristic) (FLASHCARDS)

Aim

To demonstrate the availability heuristic, which is a mental shortcut where people judge the likelihood of events based on how easily they can recall or imagine them

Procedure

Participants were presented with letters (e.g., K) and asked to estimate whether more words in English start with that letter or have it as their third letter

Results

• A significant portion of participants (approximately 70%) incorrectly judged that more words start with a given letter (e.g., K) compared to those with that letter as the third letter

• The actual data showed that there are more words with the letter in the third position

Conclusion

• Participants’ judgements were biased by the availability heuristic, leading them to overestimate the frequency of events that were easier to recall or imagine

• Demonstrates that people often rely on mental shortcuts and readily available information when making judgements, rather than accurate probability calculations