Final answer:
Experts are more likely to make intrusion errors because they often rely on intuition and a vast store of information, which can result in the unintended incorporation of irrelevant details into their decision-making. The Dunning-Kruger effect also plays a role, as experts might overestimate the ubiquity of their knowledge. Factors like cognitive load and biases further contribute to the occurrence of these errors.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question, "why are experts more likely to make intrusion errors?" involves understanding cognitive psychology and the way human memory and expertise function. Experts are subject to such errors because they have a vast array of information at their disposal and often rely on their intuition and experience to assess situations quickly. While this can be efficient, it can also lead to intrusion errors, where unrelated or incorrect knowledge is mistakenly recalled or applied to a situation.
Having a depth of knowledge, experts may quickly access their extensive memory network, which increases the risk of related (but incorrect) information being incorporated into their decision-making process, thus introducing errors. Moreover, the psychological phenomenon known as the Dunning-Kruger effect suggests that while experts can accurately assess their knowledge, they may overestimate the commonality of their expertise, assuming that others have similar knowledge, which could lead to misjudgment.
Finally, factors such as cognitive load, overconfidence, and anchoring bias can contribute to the likelihood of intrusion errors among experts. These are particularly important in high-pressure environments, where the volume of critical decisions can tax an expert's cognitive processing, potentially leading to an increased rate of mistakes.