Witnesses to the Sniper Attacks in Maryland and Virginia Described

Multiple Choice

Witnesses to the sniper attacks in Maryland and Virginia described seeing a white work van in the vicinity of the incidents. As a result of this, dozens of reports of suspicious white vans were received, even though the vans were behaving in perfectly normal way. Because the snipers actually drove a dark sedan, they were able to continue their terrible deeds longer. The people trying to solve the crime were operating under

A) a mental set.
B) formal concepts.
C) erroneous scripts.
D) a working backward heuristic.