Published on
July 12, 2024
by
Tom Challenger, BA
Revised on
October 29, 2025
The representativeness heuristic is a mental shortcut we use to decide the probability of something based on how typical we think it is. We assign this thing to a category and decide how similar we think it is to an “average” representative of that category.
Representativeness heuristic exampleYou are on the train with a friend, and a woman sits down opposite you.
She is dressed in colorful, flamboyant clothes and is reading the arts section of The New York Times.
When she gets out at the next stop, your friend says, “Do you think she was a famous artist?”
You reply, “Well, she definitely wasn’t a lawyer!”
Although there is a much greater proportion of lawyers in the population than artists, you think that the woman is more likely to be an artist because her appearance and choice of reading material match your perception of a typical artist.
The representativeness heuristic allows us to make quick and efficient decisions, but it can cause us to arrive at false conclusions and disregard relevant information.
Hindsight bias is our tendency to overestimate how predictable we thought an event was after it has happened. This can lead to overconfidence about our powers of judgment and cause us to make risky decisions or unfairly criticize the actions of others.
Hindsight bias exampleMartin is a soccer fan and goes to watch his favorite team play on the weekend.
The coach of the team has decided to include a young player in the starting lineup.
Martin discusses this decision with his friend before the match. They agree that it is a bit risky because the young player is inexperienced, but it is good that he will be replacing a player who did not play well in the last match.
Martin’s team loses the match. At work on Monday, he discusses the result with one of his colleagues. Martin says that he knew his team would lose because the young player was too inexperienced.
Hindsight bias has made Martin think that he was certain that his team would lose. But in truth, he did not predict this with confidence.
Hindsight bias is also known as the “knew-it-all-along phenomenon.” It can lead us to wrongly believe that an outcome, such as a sports score, election result, or medical error, was more certain than it actually was.
Who functions as the subject of a sentence or clause, but whom functions as an object.
The subjectpronoun “who” is correct if you can recast the sentence or clause with “she,” “he,” or “they.”
The objectpronoun “whom” is correct if you can recast with “her,” “him” or “them.”
Who vs whom in sentences examples
Sentence or clause with who/whom
Recast
Who was responsible?
She was responsible.
With whom does the responsibility lie?
The responsibility lies with her.
The question is who is responsible for the crime.
…he is responsible for the crime.
The question of to whom we can apportion the blame remains unanswered.
We can apportion the blame to him.
The suspects, who were already known to the authorities, were arrested yesterday.
…they were already known to the authorities…
The suspects, whom the authorities have been monitoring, were arrested yesterday.
…the authorities have been monitoring them…
Whom has a very formal stylistic effect, which you may want to avoid. In informal contexts such as everyday conversations and emails, we normally use who as both a subject and an object pronoun.
Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Tom Challenger, BA
Revised on
October 29, 2025
The halo effect describes the psychological phenomenon of allowing an overall initial impression of something, based on a single desirable characteristic, to positively influence future decisions we make about it, even though this characteristic is not relevant to these decisions.
The halo effect can influence choices we make about people, products and brands.
Halo effect exampleMaria is a manager and has to complete performance reviews of Lidia and Henri, two employees in her team who do the same job.
Henri is always very enthusiastic about his work, whereas Lidia has a more reserved character.
Maria gives Henri a better appraisal than Lidia, even though they are both performing at the same level.
The positive “halo” around Henri, formed on the basis of a single, very noticeable positive trait, has unconsciously influenced Maria’s decision making and clouded her judgment.
The halo effect can lead to decision-making errors as it impairs our critical thinking. We need to be aware of it in situations such as job interviews and when making important purchases.
Published on
June 24, 2024
by
Tom Challenger, BA
Revised on
November 11, 2025
To touch base means to briefly communicate with a person or a group of people such as a team of employees in order to stay in contact with them or check something.
It is an informal idiom that comes from the sport of baseball. It is often used in work and business contexts but is not generally used in formal or academic writing.
Examples: Touch base in a sentenceI’m going to touch base with Maria at the event tomorrow, so I’ll ask her about it then.
Have you got a minute to talk? I just wanted to touch base before the meeting later.
Let’s touch base about the arrangements again later in the week.
Published on
June 24, 2024
by
Tom Challenger, BA
Revised on
November 11, 2025
Genuflect is a verb meaning “to bend your knee” (e.g., as an act of worship inside a Christian church).
It is also used figuratively to mean “pleasing someone in a way that shows a lack of respect for yourself.”
Examples of genuflect in a sentenceHer mother frowned at her because she forgot to genuflect before taking her seat in church.
You’re going to have to genuflect before him if you want him to agree.
She is a genius who refuses to genuflect at the altar of convention.
Genuflect is split into three syllables with the stress on the first syllable: [jen-yoo-flekt]. The first two syllables are pronounced in the same way as in the word “genuine.”
Published on
June 19, 2024
by
Tom Challenger, BA
Revised on
November 11, 2025
The adjectivefacetious means “humorous in an inappropriate way or at an inappropriate time.” It is often used to criticize someone or something (e.g., to say that a person is treating a serious issue in an unserious way).
It is also used less critically to mean “funny and not serious.”
Examples: Facetious in a sentenceI thought that was a really facetious remark that Alberto made in the meeting.
You don’t really mean that, do you? You’re just being facetious, right?
I love to read her newspaper columns; they’re just so wonderfully facetious.
