TY - JOUR
T1 - Misconceptions of chance
T2 - Developmental differences and similarities in use of the representativeness heuristic
AU - Smith, H. David
PY - 1998/10
Y1 - 1998/10
N2 - Children's use of the representativeness heuristic was studied using a modified version of the misconception of chance task originated by Kahneman and Tversky in 1972. 243 participants from Grades 4, 6, and 8 as well as an adult comparison group judged the likelihood of various displays representing six coin tosses. Analysis suggested that approximately half of the participants in all age groups used representative thinking, i.e., judged the irregular sequence to be most probable. However, younger children provided more nonheuristic but incorrect answers than older children or adults. Findings are discussed in light of previous research on children's use of the representativeness heuristic.
AB - Children's use of the representativeness heuristic was studied using a modified version of the misconception of chance task originated by Kahneman and Tversky in 1972. 243 participants from Grades 4, 6, and 8 as well as an adult comparison group judged the likelihood of various displays representing six coin tosses. Analysis suggested that approximately half of the participants in all age groups used representative thinking, i.e., judged the irregular sequence to be most probable. However, younger children provided more nonheuristic but incorrect answers than older children or adults. Findings are discussed in light of previous research on children's use of the representativeness heuristic.
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U2 - 10.2466/pr0.1998.83.2.703
DO - 10.2466/pr0.1998.83.2.703
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:1542606425
VL - 83
SP - 703
EP - 707
JO - Psychological Reports
JF - Psychological Reports
SN - 0033-2941
IS - 2
ER -