7.3 Heuristics

• The positive and negative influences of heuristics as mechanisms for decision-making and problem-solving
• Heuristics: mental shortcuts we use to make quicker, more efficient decisions.
• Heuristics lead us to a decision without critically evaluating it first, but they can be helpful because:

  •they reduce the cognitive load required in decision-making

  •we can make snap judgements that save time and mental effort

  •they simplify complex information

  •they direct attention towards the question, probable outcomes and plausible answers.
• Three types of heuristics:

  •availability heuristic

  •representative heuristic

  •affect heuristic.
• Availability heuristic: a mental shortcut in which we use the information that we first think of to make a judgement.
• The availability heuristic:

  •uses information which is readily available or easy to imagine

  •is often influenced by information that is recent, frequent, vivid or emotionally significant

  •assumes that information that can be recalled easily must be significant or lead us towards a satisfactory response.
• Representative heuristic: a mental shortcut in decision-making where we estimate the likelihood of something occurring or being true based on its similarity to our existing understanding and expectations.
• The representative heuristic:

  •allows us to quickly categorise information

  •can lead to a biased or inaccurate estimation of probability, often for scenarios that we  couldn’t know the answer to.
• Affect heuristic: a mental shortcut that is used when decision-making is influenced by an individual’s current emotional state or mood. It is similar to ‘going with your gut’
• The affect heuristic

  •is useful as it allows for decisions to occur quickly and efficiently

  •can lead us to make decisions without taking the time to weigh up all relevant information

  •leads us to make judgements about certain words, images and objects because of the emotional response they prompt.
• heuristics