State lottery commissions capitalize on the availability heuristic by running many tv commercials showing that lucky person who won the $100 million powerball. A vivid memory is created, which leads viewers to an inaccurate estimate of the likelihood that the event will happen to them.
The availability heuristic is defined as a mental shortcut to a memory, problem or question. This shortcut comes to mind when someone is able to pull examples from memory to evaluate a topic or decision.
