Police arrest a University of Texas fan for a robbery. At th…
Police arrest a University of Texas fan for a robbery. At the trial, the prosecutor indicates that a witness, Terry, had given a statement that the robber was wearing an orange sweatshirt. In Madison, however, red sweatshirts will tend to outnumber orange sweatshirts by a factor of 100-1. If the jurors focus primarily on Terry’s specific testimony, rather than consider the overall commonness of red and orange sweatshirts, they’re likely falling victim to what decision-making issue?
Read DetailsHal is a third-year medical student in Wisconsin. Yesterday…
Hal is a third-year medical student in Wisconsin. Yesterday he was reading a paper about Dengue Fever, which comes from a virus transmitted via mosquitoes. The primary symptoms are fever, vomiting, aches and pains, and fatigue. It is incredibly uncommon in the state of Wisconsin (particularly in winter). The next day, Hal is seeing a patient whose symptoms are a good fit to Dengue fever. The symptoms are also a pretty good fit to the flu (though a slightly less good fit than the fit to Dengue fever). The flu right now is very common in Wisconsin. In his mind, Hal overestimates how common Dengue Fever might be in Wisconsin right now. He also focuses strongly on the fact that the symptoms are a very slightly better fit to Dengue Fever than to flu. As such, he gives the patient a diagnosis of Dengue fever. Hal’s overestimation of the commonness of Dengue Fever based on the fact that he was just reading about Dengue Fever, is a good example of what decision-making issue?
Read DetailsAriel recently suffered damage to part of her brain. Her doc…
Ariel recently suffered damage to part of her brain. Her doctor performs a test to assess Ariel’s condition. The doctor finds that Ariel has a hard time perceiving things across the whole visual field at one time. However, when the doctor moves a pencil rapidly in front of Ariel, Ariel is able to perceive it. Ariel is most likely to have suffered damage to what area of her brain? The doctor is likely to diagnose Ariel with what condition?
Read DetailsLaura and her dad like to spend Saturdays checking out yard…
Laura and her dad like to spend Saturdays checking out yard sales around their neighborhood. One Saturday while out at a yard sale, they spot a pair of hiking boots that are marked at $20. Laura’s dad offers the owner $16 for the boots but the owner declines. Later that day, another person purchases the boots for $20. A couple of Saturday’s later, Laura and her dad are at another yard sale when they spot a remarkably similar pair of hiking boots (in fact, they were the same exact boots!). The boots are now marked at $25 dollars. Laura’s dad offers the owner $21 for the boots. The fact that Laura’s dad offered $16 for boots at the first yard sale, but $21 for the same boots at the second yard sale demonstrates what phenomenon of human decision-making?
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