Heuristic (psychology)

Heuristics (from Ancient Greek εὑρίσκω, heurískō, "I find, discover") is the process by which humans use mental shortcuts to arrive at decisions. Heuristics are simple strategies that humans, animals,^[1]^[2]^[3] organizations,^[4] and even machines^[5] use to quickly form judgments, make decisions, and find solutions to complex problems. Often this involves focusing on the most relevant aspects of a problem or situation to formulate a solution.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[2] While heuristic processes are used to find the answers and solutions that are most likely to work or be correct, they are not always right or the most accurate.^[9] Judgments and decisions based on heuristics are simply good enough to satisfy a pressing need in situations of uncertainty, where information is incomplete.^[10] In that sense they can differ from answers given by logic and probability.

The economist and cognitive psychologist Herbert A. Simon introduced the concept of heuristics in the 1950s, suggesting there were limitations to rational decision making. In the 1970s, psychologists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman added to the field with their research on cognitive bias. It was their work that introduced specific heuristic models, a field which has only expanded since. While some^[who?] argue that pure laziness is behind the heuristics process, others^[who?] argue that it can be more accurate than decisions based on every known factor and consequence, the less-is-more effect.

^ Marsh, Barnaby (2002-01-01). "Do Animals Use Heuristics?". Journal of Bioeconomics. 4 (1): 49–56. doi:10.1023/A:1020655022163. ISSN 1573-6989. S2CID 142852213.
^ ^a ^b Gigerenzer, Gerd; Brighton, Henry (2009). "Homo Heuristicus: Why Biased Minds Make Better Inferences". Topics in Cognitive Science. 1 (1): 107–143. doi:10.1111/j.1756-8765.2008.01006.x. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-0024-F678-0. ISSN 1756-8765. PMID 25164802.
^ Hutchinson, John M. C.; Gigerenzer, Gerd (2005-05-31). "Simple heuristics and rules of thumb: Where psychologists and behavioural biologists might meet". Behavioural Processes. Proceedings of the meeting of the Society for the Quantitative Analyses of Behavior (SQAB 2004). 69 (2): 97–124. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2005.02.019. ISSN 0376-6357. PMID 15845293. S2CID 785187.
^ Gigerenzer, Gerd; Gaissmaier, Wolfgang (2011). "Heuristic Decision Making". Annual Review of Psychology. 62 (1): 451–482. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-120709-145346. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-0024-F16D-5. PMID 21126183.
^ Braun, T.D.; Siegal, H.J.; Beck, N.; Boloni, L.L.; Maheswaran, M.; Reuther, A.I.; Robertson, J.P.; Theys, M.D.; Bin Yao; Hensgen, D.; Freund, R.F. (1999). "A comparison study of static mapping heuristics for a class of meta-tasks on heterogeneous computing systems". Proceedings. Eighth Heterogeneous Computing Workshop (HCW'99). IEEE Comput. Soc. pp. 15–29. doi:10.1109/hcw.1999.765093. hdl:10945/35227. ISBN 0-7695-0107-9. S2CID 2860157.
^ Alan, Lewis (2018). The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Economic Behavior. Cambridge University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-521-85665-2.
^ Lori, Harris (2007). CliffsAP Psychology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-470-19718-9.
^ Nevid, Jeffery (2008). Psychology: Concepts and Applications. Cengage Learning. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-547-14814-4.
^ Goldstein, E. Bruce (2018-07-23). Cognitive psychology : connecting mind, research, and everyday experience. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1-337-40827-1. OCLC 1055681278.
^ Scholz, R. W. (1983-11-01). Decision Making under Uncertainty: Cognitive Decision Research, Social Interaction, Development and Epistemology. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-08-086670-3.

[1] Marsh, Barnaby (2002-01-01). "Do Animals Use Heuristics?". Journal of Bioeconomics. 4 (1): 49–56. doi:10.1023/A:1020655022163. ISSN 1573-6989. S2CID 142852213.

[gigerenzer-2] Gigerenzer, Gerd; Brighton, Henry (2009). "Homo Heuristicus: Why Biased Minds Make Better Inferences". Topics in Cognitive Science. 1 (1): 107–143. doi:10.1111/j.1756-8765.2008.01006.x. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-0024-F678-0. ISSN 1756-8765. PMID 25164802.

[3] Hutchinson, John M. C.; Gigerenzer, Gerd (2005-05-31). "Simple heuristics and rules of thumb: Where psychologists and behavioural biologists might meet". Behavioural Processes. Proceedings of the meeting of the Society for the Quantitative Analyses of Behavior (SQAB 2004). 69 (2): 97–124. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2005.02.019. ISSN 0376-6357. PMID 15845293. S2CID 785187.

[gaissmaier-4] Gigerenzer, Gerd; Gaissmaier, Wolfgang (2011). "Heuristic Decision Making". Annual Review of Psychology. 62 (1): 451–482. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-120709-145346. hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-0024-F16D-5. PMID 21126183.

[5] Braun, T.D.; Siegal, H.J.; Beck, N.; Boloni, L.L.; Maheswaran, M.; Reuther, A.I.; Robertson, J.P.; Theys, M.D.; Bin Yao; Hensgen, D.; Freund, R.F. (1999). "A comparison study of static mapping heuristics for a class of meta-tasks on heterogeneous computing systems". Proceedings. Eighth Heterogeneous Computing Workshop (HCW'99). IEEE Comput. Soc. pp. 15–29. doi:10.1109/hcw.1999.765093. hdl:10945/35227. ISBN 0-7695-0107-9. S2CID 2860157.

[6] Alan, Lewis (2018). The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Economic Behavior. Cambridge University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-521-85665-2.

[7] Lori, Harris (2007). CliffsAP Psychology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-470-19718-9.

[8] Nevid, Jeffery (2008). Psychology: Concepts and Applications. Cengage Learning. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-547-14814-4.

[:1-9] Goldstein, E. Bruce (2018-07-23). Cognitive psychology : connecting mind, research, and everyday experience. Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-1-337-40827-1. OCLC 1055681278.

[10] Scholz, R. W. (1983-11-01). Decision Making under Uncertainty: Cognitive Decision Research, Social Interaction, Development and Epistemology. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-08-086670-3.

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