Question

Which of the following illustrates a heuristic?

a. Calculating the area of a rectangle by multiplying the length times the width.
b. Using three dramatic news reports of corporate fraud to estimate how often business fraud occurs.
c. Looking in each room of your home to find your sleeping cat.
d. Following a new recipe to bake a cake for your friend.
e. Trying every key on your mom's key ring until you find the one that unlocks the seldom-used storeroom in the basement.

Answer 1

Option b, using dramatic news reports to estimate the frequency of corporate fraud, illustrates the use of a heuristic, which is a mental shortcut used to make quick judgments and solve problems.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept of a heuristic is a type of mental shortcut that allows people to solve problems quickly and efficiently. This contrasts with an algorithm which is a step-by-step procedure that guarantees the correct answer but can be more time-consuming. A heuristic is essentially a rule of thumb that can make the problem-solving process quicker, though it may not always yield the most accurate or rational decision.

When examining the options presented in the student's question, option b, Using three dramatic news reports of corporate fraud to estimate how often business fraud occurs, is an example of a heuristic. This is because it involves making a general estimation based on a limited amount of information, which is characteristic of the use of heuristics. The intuitive judgment here relies on the availability of memorable instances (in this case, dramatic news reports) to estimate the frequency of an event, known as the availability heuristic.