What is Attribute Substitution?

John Spacey, updated on February 15, 2016

Attribute substitution is an attempt to solve a complex problem with a heuristic attribute that is an incorrect substitution. In other words, people may substitute a hard problem for an easy one incorrectly and without realizing it.

This can take many forms but the classic example is the substitution of an emotion such as fear for a problem. Attribute substitution is known to cause inaccurate assessments of emotional topics such as dread risks. For example, a person may be worse at assessing the price of insurance against something they fear such as a plane crash or terrorism as opposed to regular life insurance.

Overview: Attribute Substitution
Type	Cognitive Bias
Definition	Incorrect substitution of a problem with a heuristic attribute such as emotion, generalization or analogy.
Examples	Answering a question with an emotional gut reaction as opposed to a well considered rational thought process. Making broad generalizations about a group of people and using such stereotypes to make decisions. Incorrectly reducing a complex problem to a simple analogy.
Related Concepts	Rational Thought Logic