Which bias is stopping the diagnostic process too early after finding a seemingly sufficient explanation?

• A. Automation bias
• B. Premature closure
• C. Availability bias
• D. Anchoring bias

Answer: (B)

Premature closure is a diagnostic thinking bias where, once a plausible explanation is found, the clinician stops exploring other possibilities and ends the search for a diagnosis. This matches stopping the diagnostic process too early after finding what seems to be a sufficient explanation.

Why this fits best: the scenario describes ending the investigation after a seemingly adequate reason is identified, which is exactly what premature closure means. The risk is missing other potential or more serious conditions because the reasoning was not continued or challenged.

Other biases influence the thinking process differently. Automation bias is leaning on automated outputs instead of your own judgment. Availability bias relies on diagnoses that come readily to mind from memory. Anchoring bias fixes on the initial information and fails to adjust as new data appear. While they can play a role in missteps, the behavior of halting the search after a plausible explanation is most directly described by premature closure.

In practice, guard against it by maintaining a broad differential, actively seeking disconfirming evidence, and revisiting the case as new information emerges.