Availability Heuristic

I introduced some cognitive bias in the previous blog. In last month, I found a comic strip in the Seattle Times. It is not only funny, but it is also a good example to explain what availability heuristic is. 

Article: The Seattle Times

The availability heuristic refers to judgments based on how easy it is for us to bring specific examples to mind, according to The Social Animal.

In this comic strip, there is a conversation between an angel and a movie star. I focused on the angel's statements. For example, he (I guess the angel is Ernest, so he is male.) said "In Hollywood everybody gets plastic surgery... we all have eternal youth!" This is obviously related to the availability heuristic because as far as I know, many stars do not get plastic surgery. Only some stars get it. Also, he said "We don't have celebrity parties, but we are surrounded by stars." He added " And celebrities fly on private jets while up here we all have our own wings." These comments have the same problem. In short, being surrounded by stars and owning a private jet is not typical of the overall picture for Hollywood stars.

Finally, I am going to add typical quizzes which are often referred by textbooks:

1. Fortune magazine ranked the following 10 corporations as being among the 500 largest United States-based firms according to sales volume for 2008: Group A (Apple computer, Hershey Foods, Kellogg, McDonald's, U.S. Airways); Group B (Altria Group, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, McKesson, Valero Energy). Which group would you say (A or B) had the larger total sales volume?
2. Which of the following causes more deaths in the United States each year? a). Stomach cancer b). Motor vehicle accidents

So, what do you think that you have 100 percent confidence to answer the questions correctly? Sometimes our perception is distorted, but not every single time, even our perception of beauty. WE LIVE IN WHAT WE PERCEIVE. Watch out women who wear makeup.