Question
Even though stomach cancer kills more people than plane crashes do, most people tend to assume that plane crashes cause more deaths.This misconception seems to arise from __ , since plane crash fatalities tend to be widely publicized and are therefore relatively easy for people to bring to mind. Information overload. The representativeness heuristic. The anchoring and adjustment heuristic. The availability heuristic.
Answer
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Nigel
Elite · Tutor for 8 years
Answer
The misconception that plane crashes cause more deaths than stomach cancer is primarily due to the availability heuristic. This heuristic leads people to overestimate the likelihood of events that are easily brought to mind, such as highly publicized plane crash fatalities, while underestimating the risks associated with less salient events like stomach cancer.