A heuristic is a mental shortcut that allows an individual to make a decision, pass judgment, or solve a problem quickly and with minimal mental effort. While heuristics can reduce the burden of decision-making and free up limited cognitive resources, they can also be costly when they lead individuals to miss critical information or act on unjust biases. Show
What Is a Heuristic?
As humans move throughout the world, they must process large amounts of information and make many choices with limited amounts of time. When information is missing, or an immediate decision is necessary, heuristics act as “rules of thumb” that guide behavior down the most efficient pathway. Heuristics are not unique to humans; animals use heuristics that, though less complex, also serve to simplify decision-making and reduce cognitive load.
Do heuristics make us more successful?Generally, yes. Navigating day-to-day life requires everyone to make countless small decisions within a limited timeframe. Heuristics can help individuals save time and mental energy, freeing up cognitive resources for more complex planning and problem-solving endeavors. Why do we use heuristics?The human brain and all its processes—including heuristics—developed over millions of years of evolution. Since mental shortcuts save both cognitive energy and time, they likely provided an advantage to those who relied on them. Are evolved heuristics useful in modern life?Heuristics that were helpful to early humans may not be universally beneficial today. The familiarity heuristic, for example—in which the familiar is preferred over the unknown—could steer early humans toward foods or people that were safe, but may trigger anxiety or unfair biases in modern times. Different Kinds of Heuristics
The study of heuristics was developed by renowned psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. Starting in the 1970s, Kahneman and Tversky identified several different kinds of heuristics, most notably the availability heuristic and the anchoring heuristic. Since then, researchers have continued their work and identified many different kinds of heuristics, including:
What is the anchoring heuristic?The anchoring heuristic, or anchoring bias, occurs when someone relies more heavily on the first piece of information learned when making a choice, even if it's not the most relevant. In such cases, anchoring is likely to steer individuals wrong. What is the availability heuristic?The availability heuristic describes the mental shortcut in which someone estimates whether something is likely to occur based on how readily examples come to mind. People tend to overestimate the probability of plane crashes, homicides, and shark attacks, for instance, because examples of such events are easily remembered. What is the representativeness heuristic?People who make use of the representativeness heuristic categorize objects (or other people) based on how similar they are to known entities—assuming someone described as "quiet" is more likely to be a librarian than a politician, for instance. What is satisficing?When Heuristics Are Wrong
Heuristics, while useful, are imperfect; if relied on too heavily, they can result in incorrect judgments or cognitive biases. Some are more likely to steer people wrong than others. Assuming, for example, that child abductions are common because they’re frequently reported on the news—an example of the availability heuristic—may trigger unnecessary fear or overprotective parenting practices. Understanding commonly unhelpful heuristics, and identifying situations where they could affect behavior, may help individuals avoid such mental pitfalls. What is the fundamental attribution error?What is an example of the fundamental attribution error?How can I make better decisions?Listen to your gut, but don’t rely on it. Think through major problems methodically—by making a list of pros and cons, for instance, or consulting with people you trust. Make extra time to think through tasks where snap decisions could cause significant problems, such as catching an important flight.
While AI is intended to help humans make decisions, relying on it may have unintended consequences. 
The framework identifies reasons when wondering, "Why did they do that?" or"What was I thinking?" and solutions when asking what to do next.
People link effort with value and meaning, even when it is unproductive. This is due to mental heuristics that allow us to infer intentions from actions. It is not that you are somehow worse at relationships than everyone else; it’s just that at this current moment, you’re not in one, and some people around you are. What are the cognitive shortcuts used to simplify the decisionHeuristic methods can be used to speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution. Heuristics can be mental shortcuts that ease the cognitive load of making a decision.
What are mental shortcuts in decisionHeuristics are mental shortcuts that can facilitate problem-solving and probability judgments. These strategies are generalizations, or rules-of-thumb, reduce cognitive load, and can be effective for making immediate judgments, however, they often result in irrational or inaccurate conclusions.
What's another term for mental shortcuts?Heuristics are mental shortcuts based on information your brain naturally gathers and stores as you go about your days. Your brain uses these heuristics to form biases, so it knows what to decide when presented with similar situations.
What are the 3 types of heuristics?The three heuristics that received most attention were availability, representativeness, and anchoring and adjustment. The availability heuristic refers to the tendency to assess the probability of an event based on the ease with which instances of that event come to mind.
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