As was mentioned heuristics is the use of mental-shortcuts to make immediate decisions. Heuristics are normally used when we lack time and/or information, so we rely on the short-cuts the brain has programmed overtime. These work well most of the time, but sometimes it may create problems in our reasoning or, a cognitive bias. In other words, in psychology heuristics are simple rules of thumb that our brain use to make decisions with or without our conscious knowledge. These rules can be learned or we may have developed them through evolution.
Heuristics are divided into many sub-groups, each with their own set of rules, but all include the fact that it is done to help make decision-making simpler. In the next page, we talk about a sub-group of heuristics, social heuristics. Below are the general heuristics which we practice in our everyday lives. Although these heuristics can be useful and save time; they can, at times, make even the most intelligent people make poor decisions.
Heuristics are divided into many sub-groups, each with their own set of rules, but all include the fact that it is done to help make decision-making simpler. In the next page, we talk about a sub-group of heuristics, social heuristics. Below are the general heuristics which we practice in our everyday lives. Although these heuristics can be useful and save time; they can, at times, make even the most intelligent people make poor decisions.
Anchoring and adjustment: This heuristic exhibits the fact that humans tend to rely more heavily on the first piece of information provided to them, than information that is provided later (Smith, 1999). This means than when given a certain problem and we get an initial piece of information (the anchor), we then try to adjust our guess based on this piece of information. For example, when we want to buy something, the initial price would be our anchor, and based on it we will try to adjust the price around it. In other words if the initial anchor price is high we will adjust around that price, on the other hand if the price anchor is low, we will then adjust around that lower price. In conclusion, anchoring and adjustment means that the order in which we are presented the information can change our final answer.
Availability heuristic: This heuristic is very self-explanatory. It means that we make a judgement or a prediction based on the amount of information we can recall the easiest; meaning the memory that is most available. For example, in an experiment of Tversky & Kahneman (Harvey, 2007), a large amount of participants thought that there were more words in English that started with a K than words that have a K as their third letter. In fact, there are twice as many words with the letter K as the third letter than as the first. This happened because it is easier to bring to mind words that begin with the letter K, so the participants simply assumed that there were more words beginning with K. As you can tell, this heuristic can cause one to come to the wrong conclusions, as the first thing that comes to mind, may not actually be the most accurate response.
Representativeness heuristics: The representativeness heuristic is the shortcut we use when we put something on the same category without knowing if it’s true. In the words of Kahneman and Tversky (1972), we use this heuristic when we evaluate the probability of an uncertain event by the degree it is: a) Similar in essential properties to its parent population and b) reflects the salient feature of the process by which it is generated. In simper words it means that because we see certain characteristics of something we will think we know what that something is. For example, when there is an immigrant that arrives in a country and he has children in said country; his children will, obviously, have part of his ethnical background. So when we see his children in our country, for the first time, we may very likely assume that they are the ones that immigrate not their parents, if we did not know it beforehand of course. That is because we will use the representative aspect of his background, being the shape of the face or colour of the skin, to make a decision about that person. So, next time you see someone who ‘looks’ like an immigrant, and tell them that their “English is very good for not being from here” you are in fact using the representativeness heuristic.
Base-rate fallacy: This heuristic is very much rooted in our brain, however it is more of an error that our brain does than a mental-‘shortcut’. Base-rate fallacy means that we tend to ignore the base-rate; the generic information, and focus more on a specific one (Harvey, 2007). What that means is that we tend to prefer characterizing information over general information when is available.
An example being: imagine there is a person called John, he wears gothic clothing, has long black hair, and he listens to black metal music. Is he a Christian or a Satanist? Your first impression would more than likely be Satanist; however, there are more Christians on the planet (2 billion). Therefore, despite what the clothing may suggest, he is more likely to be Christian based on the quantity of Christians compared to Satanists’. In other words, the base-rate fallacy is an error in our way of thinking that can change our ability to judge a situation correctly, because our brain searches for an easier way to answer the question over a more searched answer.
An example being: imagine there is a person called John, he wears gothic clothing, has long black hair, and he listens to black metal music. Is he a Christian or a Satanist? Your first impression would more than likely be Satanist; however, there are more Christians on the planet (2 billion). Therefore, despite what the clothing may suggest, he is more likely to be Christian based on the quantity of Christians compared to Satanists’. In other words, the base-rate fallacy is an error in our way of thinking that can change our ability to judge a situation correctly, because our brain searches for an easier way to answer the question over a more searched answer.
Intuition: As the oxford dictionary (2015) says; intuition is the ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning. We have all had that ‘gut-feeling’ about which is the correct choice. Intuition is the use of that ‘gut-feeling’ to make a decision. This is also a shortcut that our brain uses when it needs to reach a decision quickly. It is especially effective against time pressure; and when used by an expert that has experience in that particular problem. What that means is that experts in a certain field can use intuition more easily and more accurately than someone that is not (Kahneman et Klein, 2009).
For example, when taking care of a child, a person with experience in childcare will know instinctively what to do in certain situations with them. Nevertheless, this is not to say that a person with experience, or an expert in a field, will always have an accurate intuition, it just means that it will be more accurate than a person that does not have experience.
Although there are a number of more relevant heuristics, those listed above are the most commonly discussed and experienced today.
For example, when taking care of a child, a person with experience in childcare will know instinctively what to do in certain situations with them. Nevertheless, this is not to say that a person with experience, or an expert in a field, will always have an accurate intuition, it just means that it will be more accurate than a person that does not have experience.
Although there are a number of more relevant heuristics, those listed above are the most commonly discussed and experienced today.
References:
Harvey, N.,(2007), Use of Heuristics: Insight from forecasting research. Thinking and Reasoning. 13(1). 5-24.
Intuition. (2015). In Oxford English online dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/intuition
Kahneman, D., & Klein, G., (2009). Conditions for Intuitive Expertise: A failure to disagree. American Psychologist. 64(6). 515-526.
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A., (1972). Subjective probability: A judgment of representativeness. Cognitive Psychology. 3(3). 430-454.
Smith, H., (1999), Use of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic by children. Current Psychology. 18(3). 294-300
Harvey, N.,(2007), Use of Heuristics: Insight from forecasting research. Thinking and Reasoning. 13(1). 5-24.
Intuition. (2015). In Oxford English online dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/intuition
Kahneman, D., & Klein, G., (2009). Conditions for Intuitive Expertise: A failure to disagree. American Psychologist. 64(6). 515-526.
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A., (1972). Subjective probability: A judgment of representativeness. Cognitive Psychology. 3(3). 430-454.
Smith, H., (1999), Use of the anchoring and adjustment heuristic by children. Current Psychology. 18(3). 294-300
This page has been written by Juan Sierra and edited by Hannah More.
PSY 2110 G: Term Project April 2015
PSY 2110 G: Term Project April 2015