Question

Illnesses such as diabetes and stomach cancer kill more than twice the number of Americans than murder or car accidents. However, Zale sees car accidents as more dangerous because he often hears about car accident fatalities on the nightly news, and he doesn't know anyone with diabetes or stomach cancer. Therefore, Zale takes more precautions against car accidents. This exemplifies ________.

A. algorithm
B. availability heuristic
C. functional fixedness
D. hindsight bias

Answer 1

Zale's perception of car accidents being more dangerous than diabetes or cancer, despite statistical evidence to the contrary, illustrates the influence of the availability heuristic.

Step-by-step explanation:

Zale's belief that car accidents are more dangerous than illnesses such as diabetes and stomach cancer, because they are reported more frequently in the news and are more personally salient, demonstrates the availability heuristic. This cognitive bias leads individuals to overestimate the likelihood of events that are more memorable or easily recalled, even when statistical evidence indicates otherwise. In Zale's case, while diabetes and cancer cause significantly more deaths, the more vivid and frequently reported car accidents stand out in his memory, influencing his perception of risk and precautions.