In the study about "Linda," what was the significant finding regarding students' perceptions?

The study about "Linda" highlights a notable cognitive bias known as the conjunction fallacy. In this scenario, participants were presented with a description of Linda and were asked to choose which scenario was more likely: identifying her as a bank teller or as a feminist bank teller. The significant finding that students favored identifying Linda as a feminist bank teller demonstrates how people often assume that specific details (such as her being a feminist) make a particular description more representative, thus leading to erroneous conclusions about probabilities.

In this case, many individuals incorrectly believed it was more likely that Linda belonged to the narrower category of "feminist bank teller" rather than the broader category of "bank teller," despite the logical fact that the broader category must encompass more individuals. This reflects how people's judgments can be skewed by perceptions of representativeness rather than strict probabilities, making it a classic example of how cognitive biases can affect decision-making and beliefs about likelihood.