A group of thieves has been convicted of stealing luxury items from a local shopping center. The usual sentence is jail time ranging from 3 to 10 years. The prosecutor hopes for a lengthy punishment in order to send a message to other would-be thieves. She asks the judge to consider a 10 year sentence, even though the punishment is usually shorter. She is taking advantage of ______________ to try to increase the punishment length.

Select one:

a. The paradox of choice

b. confirmation bias

c. rational decision making

d. the anchoring effect