Extension neglect

Extension neglect^{[lower-alpha 1]} is a type of cognitive bias that occurs when the mind tends to ignore the size of the set during an evaluation in which the size of the set is logically relevant.^[1]

Extension neglect is described as being caused by judgment by prototype, of which the representativeness heuristic is a special case.

Forms of extension neglect include:

• base rate neglect
• insensitivity to sample size
• scope neglect
• duration neglect
  • the peak-end rule
• the conjunction fallacy
• the less-is-better effect

The extension effect is "neither universal nor absolute". If attention is drawn to set size in an easily interpretable way, an additive extension effect is reported, according to which the valuation of a set is a function of the valuation of a prototypical member of the set added to set size, rather than multiplied.^[1]

Footnotes

Notes

1. The concept of extensionality is used throughout Kahneman and Tversky's research as synonymous of extent (range, size) of the set. It should not be confused with Arrow's concept of extensionality, which in Kahneman and Tversky's work is called invariance.

References

1. Kahneman 2000

Bibliography

• Kahneman, Daniel; Ritov, Ilana; Schkade, David (1999). "Economic Preferences or Attitude Expressions? An Analysis of Dollar Responses to Public Issues" (PDF). Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 19 (1/3): 203–235. doi:10.1023/A:1007835629236.

• Kahneman, Daniel (2000). "Evaluation by moments, past and future". In Kahneman, Daniel; Tversky, Amos. Choices, Values and Frames (PDF). Cambridge University Press. p. 708. ISBN 978-0521627498.