Base-rate respect: From ecological rationality to dual processes
Barbey and Sloman examine base-rate neglect from two angles, how people judge under uncertainty and what the judgments imply about rationality. They review competing perspectives, conclude that a dual-process model fits the evidence best, and describe base-rate neglect as arising from associative strategies that do not capture how categories in a problem nest within one another. The effect is smaller when problems are framed so that people can readily represent the nested groups.
Barbey and Sloman examine base-rate neglect from two angles, how people judge under uncertainty and what the judgments imply about rationality. They review competing perspectives, conclude that a dual-process model fits the evidence best, and describe base-rate neglect as arising from associative strategies that do not capture how categories in a problem nest within one another. The effect is smaller when problems are framed so that people can readily represent the nested groups.
Written from the abstract, Cambridge Core record, 2026-10-31.
What our sources record
Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
Barbey, A. K., & Sloman, S. A. (2007). Base-rate respect: From ecological rationality to dual processes. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 30(3), 241-254. doi:10.1017/S0140525X07001653 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X07001653