title: The representativeness heuristic: influence on nurses' decision making.
abstract: Nurses and student nurses read case descriptions and generated diagnoses for patients who differed on situational and behaviorial chactacteristics. Consistent with a representativeness heuristic, participants were less likely to attribute symptoms to physical illness when scenarios included extra-symptom patient characteristics. Results suggest that medical personnel implement prototypical, heuristic-based diagnostic procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. lbrannon@ksu.edu
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Brannon
authors.forename: Kimi L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Carson
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003657:Decision Making; D016529:Emergency Nursing; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis*; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D011340:Problem Solving; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D020521:Stroke / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology