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Heuristics and Biases in Medical Judgment and Decision Making

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Applications of Heuristics and Biases to Social Issues

Part of the book series: Social Psychological Applications to Social Issues ((SPAS,volume 3))

Abstract

Ann Coulter could not stop worrying about the lump in her breast. No matter how hard she tried to put it out of her mind, her fear kept returning. Even though she knew that most lumps are benign, her first thought was that she had cancer. Ann’s doctor, Arlene Greenfield, reassured her that it was probably only a benign cyst: “Only 10% of movable, regularly shaped, lumps turn out to be cancer.” Nevertheless, Dr. Greenfield ordered a mammogram “just to be sure.”

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009, Australia

    Steven Schwartz

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  1. Steven Schwartz
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Loyola University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Linda Heath , R. Scott Tindale , John Edwards , Emil J. Posavac , Fred B. Bryant , Eaaron Henderson-King , Yolanda Suarez-Balcazar  & Judith Myers , , , , , ,  & 

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Schwartz, S. (1994). Heuristics and Biases in Medical Judgment and Decision Making. In: Heath, L., et al. Applications of Heuristics and Biases to Social Issues. Social Psychological Applications to Social Issues, vol 3. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9238-6_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9238-6_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-9240-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-9238-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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