Asingle, memorable case of welfare fraud has a greater impact on estimates of the frequency of welfare abuse than do statistics showing that this case is actually the exception to the rule. this illustrates that judgments are influenced by the

a. confirmation bias.
b. representativeness heuristic.
c. belief perseverance phenomenon.
d. framing effect.
e. availability heuristic

a. confirmation bias

Explanation:

Confirmation bias is tendency to select or recall information in a way that confirms or strengthens one's prior personal beliefs or hypotheses- a sort of cognitive bias. This is seen in people that prefer to select information and not judge based on all information. In this way effect is stronger for "desired outcomes". Emotional people are more prone to this type of judgement.

separation of powers, therefore, refers to the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another.   the intent is to prevent the concentration of power and provide for checks and balances.  

the traditional characterizations of the powers of the branches of american government are:

* the legislative branch is responsible for enacting the laws of the state and appropriating the money necessary to operate the government.

* the executive branch is responsible for implementing and administering the public policy enacted and funded by the legislative branch.

* the judicial branch is responsible for interpreting the constitution and laws and applying their interpretations to controversies brought before it.

forty state constitutions specify that government be divided into three branches:   legislative, executive and judicial.   california illustrates this approach; "the powers of state government are legislative, executive, and judicial.   persons charged with the exercise of one power may not exercise either of the others except as permitted by this constitution."

while separation of powers is key to the workings of american government, no democratic system exists with an absolute separation of powers or an absolute lack of separation of powers. governmental powers and responsibilities intentionally overlap; they are too complex and interrelated to be neatly compartmentalized. as a result, there is an inherent measure of competition and conflict

minnesota:   minnesota house research,   separation of powers: when statutes and court rules conflict, 2005