Validated by: Cassadie Smith 2/1/23, Emily Walton 2/14/23, Rebecca Marshall 2/22/23, Macey Mattson

3/1/2023

Disclosure: ChatGPT3 was used in the creation of this resource.

A heuristic is a mental shortcut that people use to make decisions or solve problems. It is a way of simplifying complex problems or situations. Heuristics can also be an effective way to make quick decisions based on limited information. However, heuristics can also lead to biases and errors in judgment, especially when the problem or situation is more complex than the heuristic can handle.

Here are some examples of heuristics that people might use:

• The availability heuristic is a mental shortcut that involves judging the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind. For example, if you are trying to decide whether it is safe to go for a swim in the ocean, you might use the availability heuristic by considering how many shark attacks you have heard of recently. If you have heard of a lot of shark attacks, you might be more likely to think that it is not safe to go for a swim, even if there are other factors that you should be considering as well.
• The representativeness heuristic is a mental shortcut that involves judging the likelihood of an event based on how closely it matches a typical example. For example, if you are trying to decide whether a certain person is a good fit for a job, you might use the representativeness heuristic by considering how closely the person matches your idea of what someone in that job should be like. For example, if you think that a good lawyer should be confident and articulate, you might be more likely to think that a person who is confident and articulate is a good fit for the job, even if there are other important qualities that you should be considering as well.
• The anchoring and adjustment heuristic is a mental shortcut that involves starting with an initial value or estimate and then adjusting it based on new information. For example, if you are trying to decide how much to bid on an item
• The affect heuristic is a mental shortcut that involves allowing our emotional reactions to influence our judgments and decisions. For example, if you see a scary movie and then have to decide whether to go on a hike in the woods, you might use the effect heuristic by allowing your fear from the movie to influence your decision about whether it is safe to go on the hike. Your emotional reaction to the movie (fear) might cause you to overestimate the risk of something bad happening on the hike, even if there are other factors that you should be considering as well.

Quiz Questions:

1. The anchoring and adjustment heuristic involves:

1. Judging the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind
2. Judging the likelihood of an event based on how closely it matches a typical example
3. Starting with an initial value or estimate and then adjusting it based on new information
4. None of the above

2. Which of the following is NOT true about a heuristic?

1. It is a mental shortcut that people use to make decisions or solve problems
2. It is an algorithm that is guaranteed to find the optimal solution
3. It is a quick and accurate way to make quick judgments
4. It is a way of simplifying complex problems or situations
5. It can be an effective way to make quick decisions based on limited information

Further Reading:

Heuristics: Definition, Examples, and How They Work