True or False: Base rate expectations occur when an examiner has unnecessary contextual information.

Base rate expectations refer to cognitive biases where individuals rely on the general prevalence of a condition or attribute (the base rate) when making judgments, often leading to skewed interpretations of specific instances. The statement suggests that base rate expectations arise from having unnecessary contextual information, which misrepresents the concept.

When an examiner is presented with irrelevant details or excessive context, it can lead to confusion or misinterpretation but does not inherently create base rate expectations. Instead, base rate expectations typically arise from the tendency to lean on statistical norms rather than individual case details. Therefore, saying that having unnecessary contextual information leads to base rate expectations is not accurate, affirming that the statement is false.

This understanding helps discern the nuances of cognitive biases in evaluation processes, emphasizing the importance of separating relevant context from what is statistically common.