What is the representativeness heuristic concerned with?

The representativeness heuristic is a mental shortcut that relies on how closely something resembles a typical case or prototype. It involves categorizing people or events based on how similar they are to a mental image or stereotype that one holds. This heuristic can lead to quicker judgments because people often use familiar patterns to make decisions rather than thoroughly analyzing all possible information.

When employing this heuristic, individuals may overlook statistical data or relevant information in favor of how representative a particular example appears based on their preconceptions. This can create biases, as people might conclude that something belongs to a certain category simply because it reflects the characteristics of a prototype rather than relying on statistical reasoning or actual probabilities.