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The effect of base rate, careful analysis, and the distinction between decisions from experience and from description

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2007

Amos Schurr
Affiliation:
School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000, Israel. [email protected]@tx.technion.ac.ilhttp://ie.technion.ac.il/erev.phtml
Ido Erev
Affiliation:
School of Education, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000, Israel. [email protected]@tx.technion.ac.ilhttp://ie.technion.ac.il/erev.phtml

Abstract

Barbey & Sloman (B&S) attribute base-rate neglect to associative processes (like retrieval from memory) that fail to adequately represent the set structure of the problem. This commentary notes that associative responses can also lead to base-rate overweighting. We suggest that the difference between the two patterns is related to the distinction between decisions from experience and decisions from description.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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