Skip to main content

Representativeness Bias

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Cognitive Errors and Diagnostic Mistakes

Abstract

Joseph was a 34-year-old man who presented with a seizure. He had been complaining of a headache for 5 days prior to admission, and his wife noticed he had trouble “getting out certain words.” He was a member of Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York. He was otherwise healthy and had some mild weakness of his right arm on examination. An MRI, shown below, revealed a ring-enhancing mass in the left frontal lobe with swelling. The radiologist gave a large differential of what the lesion could be, including tumors and infections.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Schantz PM, Moore AC, Muñoz JL, Hartman BJ, Schaefer JA, Aron AM, Persaud D, Sarti E, Wilson M, Flisser A. Neurocysticercosis in an Orthodox Jewish community in New York City. N Engl J Med. 1992;327(10):692–5. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199209033271004.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Ingraham C. (2017, Sept 30). White people are more likely to deal drugs, but black people are more likely to get arrested for it. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/09/30/white-people-are-more-likely-to-deal-drugs-but-black-people-are-more-likely-to-get-arrested-for-it.

  3. Triplet RG. Discriminatory biases in the perception of illness: the application of availability and representativeness heuristics to the AIDS crisis. Basic Appl Soc Psychol. 1992;13(3):303–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Kahneman D, Tversky A. On the psychology of prediction. Psychol Rev. 1973;80(4):237–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0034747.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Tversky A, Kahneman D. Judgments of and by representativeness. In: Kahneman D, Slovic P, Tversky A, editors. Judgement under uncertainty: heuristics and biases. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1982. p. 84–98.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  6. Tversky A, Kahneman D. Judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases. Science. 1974;185(4157):1124–31. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4157.1124.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Gigerenzer G, Gaissmaier W, Kurz-Milcke E, Schwartz LM, Woloshin S. Helping doctors and patients make sense of health statistics. Psychol Sci Public Interest. 2008;8(2):53–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Anderson BL, Williams S, Schulkin J. Statistical literacy of obstetrics-gynecology residents. J Grad Med Educ. 2013;5(2):272–5. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-12-00161.1.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Phelps MA, Levitt MA. Pretest probability estimates: a pitfall to the clinical utility of evidence-based medicine? Acad Emerg Med. 2004;11(6):692–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. gmp26. (2009, Feb 23). 2845 ways to spin the risk [Blog post]. Understanding Uncertainty. https://understandinguncertainty.org/node/233.

  11. Hope J. (2012, June 6). Child’s risk of brain cancer triples after just two CT scans. DailyMail.com. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2155678/Childs-risk-brain-cancer-tripled-head-CT-scans.html.

  12. Riesch H, Spiegelhalter DJ. ‘Careless pork costs lives’: risk stories from science to press release to media. Health Risk Soc. 2011;13(1):47–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698575.2010.540645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Knapton S. (2015, May 26). Newer contraceptive pills raise risk of blood clot four fold. The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11630581/Newer-contraceptive-pills-raise-risk-of-blood-clot-four-fold.html.

  14. Furedi A. The public health implications of the 1995 ‘pill scare. Hum Reprod Update. 1999;5(6):621–6.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Wood R, Botting B, Dunnell K. Trends in conceptions before and after the 1995 pill scare. Popul Trends. 1997;89:5–12.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Farmer RD, Williams TJ, Simpson EL, Nightingale AL. Effect of 1995 pill scare on rates of venous thromboembolism among women taking combined oral contraceptives: analysis of general practice research database. BMJ. 2000;321(7259):477–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Kremer W. (2014). Do doctors understand test results? BBC News Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28166019.

  18. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Genome Research Institute. (2012, Feb 27). Frequently asked questions about rare diseases. Retrieved from https://www.genome.gov/27531963/faq-about-rare-diseases/.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Howard, J. (2019). Representativeness Bias. In: Cognitive Errors and Diagnostic Mistakes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93224-8_24

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93224-8_24

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93223-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93224-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics