Which term is used for judging the probability of an event based on how similar it is to a typical case?

• A. Availability Heuristic
• B. Mental Set
• C. Algorithm
• D. Representativeness Heuristic

Answer: (D)

Representativeness is a mental shortcut where you judge how likely something is by how closely it resembles a typical example or prototype of that category. If a description fits the familiar picture of a category, you estimate higher probability without weighing actual base-rate information. This can lead to errors when the real odds don’t match the prototype, such as underestimating how common a category is or overlooking base rates.

This differs from the availability heuristic, which relies on how easily examples come to mind; from mental set, which is about sticking with a familiar problem-solving approach; and from an algorithm, which is a fixed, step-by-step procedure for solving something.