Representativeness heuristic

The representativeness heuristic is a mental shortcut that people use to make judgments and decisions about unfamiliar situations. It occurs when people form quick opinions based on readily accessible information. People are more likely to use this heuristic when requiring a rapid opinion or consequence, or when putting little effort into forming judgments. This heuristic relies on the fact that people often rely on recent experiences or the stereotype about a situation which can lead to inaccurate or biased judgments. For example, people may use their own experiences to lump a new situation into a category based on their limited knowledge.