Probability a negative review came from a lazy reviewer

Quick Overview

Evaluates Bayes' theorem for reviewer-type inference from a negative review under strict reviewer behavior assumptions. Strong answers define lazy and careful reviewer priors, compute the marginal negative-review probability, and explain why the posterior for lazy is zero.

Probability a negative review came from a lazy reviewer

Company: Meta

Role: Data Scientist

Category: Statistics & Math

Difficulty: easy

Interview Round: Onsite

Scenario: 20 % of reviewers never leave negative feedback; the rest are rigorous. If you see a negative review, what is the chance it came from a lazy reviewer? ​ Question 1: Lazy reviewers always rate positive (20 % share), careful reviewers 60 % positive (80 % share). If a review is negative, P(it is from lazy reviewer)? (Hint: posterior computation)

Quick Answer: Evaluates Bayes' theorem for reviewer-type inference from a negative review under strict reviewer behavior assumptions. Strong answers define lazy and careful reviewer priors, compute the marginal negative-review probability, and explain why the posterior for lazy is zero.

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Jul 12, 2025, 6:59 PM
easyData ScientistOnsiteStatistics & Math
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Bayesian Posterior: Negative Review and Lazy Reviewer

Reviewer types in the population:

  • Lazy reviewers are 20% of reviewers and never leave negative feedback.
  • Careful reviewers are 80% of reviewers and leave positive feedback 60% of the time and negative feedback 40% of the time.

Given that you observe a negative review, what is the probability it was written by a lazy reviewer?

Constraints & Assumptions

  • Use Bayes' theorem.
  • Treat "never leave negative feedback" as probability zero.
  • Define reviewer types and the observed negative-review event.
  • Explain the intuition behind the posterior.

Clarifying Questions to Ask Guidance

  • Is "never" literal, or should it be treated as a very small probability?
  • Are lazy and careful reviewers the only reviewer types?
  • Is the observed review randomly sampled from all reviews?
  • Are review probabilities independent across reviews?

What a Strong Answer Covers Guidance

  • Defines L for lazy, C for careful, and N for negative review.
  • Uses P(L) = 0.2, P(C) = 0.8, P(N | L) = 0, and P(N | C) = 0.4.
  • Computes P(N) = 0 times 0.2 plus 0.4 times 0.8 = 0.32.
  • Computes P(L | N) = 0.
  • Explains that under the stated assumptions a negative review cannot come from a lazy reviewer.
  • Notes how the answer would change if lazy reviewers had a small nonzero negative-review rate.

Follow-up Questions Guidance

  • What if lazy reviewers leave negative reviews 1% of the time?
  • What is P(Careful | Negative)?
  • How would you estimate these probabilities from data?
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