Tom is considering moving to a new city. He reads that the employment rate in that city is 90%, which he thinks is very favourable. Ted is considering moving to the same city, but he reads that the unemployment rate is 10%, which he thinks is unacceptably high. Why would Tom and Ted reach such different conclusions based on the same statistics?

Question

A) Tom received information that was framed in a favourable way, whereas Ted received the exact same information but framed in an unfavourable way.
B) Tom used base-rate data, but Ted used anecdotal data when forming his decision.
C) Tom relied on the representativeness heuristic when making his decision, whereas Ted relied on the availability heuristic.
D) Neither Tom nor Ted fully considered other cities, so both their judgements were guided by the conjunction fallacy.

Answer 1

A) Tom received information that was framed in a favourable way, whereas Ted received the exact same information but framed in an unfavourable way.