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Which reference class is evoked?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2010

Craig R. M. McKenzie
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0109
Jack B. Soll
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637. cmckenzie@ucsd.edu

Abstract

Any instance (i.e., event, behavior, trait) belongs to infinitely many reference classes, hence there are infinitely many base rates from which to choose. People clearly do not entertain all possible reference classes, however, so something must be limiting the search space. We suggest some possible mechanisms that determine which reference class is evoked for the purpose of judgment and decision.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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