Availability Bias

Definition

Availability bias is a cognitive heuristic where people make judgments based on the ease with which examples or instances come to mind. It occurs when individuals rely on immediate examples that come to their mind rather than considering a broader range of possibilities.

Related terms

Anchoring Bias: The tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when making decisions.

Confirmation Bias: The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.

Representative Heuristic: A mental shortcut where people make judgments about the probability of an event based on how closely it resembles a typical example or prototype.