Cognitive Biases: Heuristics in Psychology

Study Notes

The representativeness heuristic is useful for making quick judgments but can lead to overlooking individual differences.
Anchoring and adjustment heuristic involves starting with an initial estimate and adjusting it based on additional information, but can be overly influenced by the initial guess.
Confirmation bias involves seeking information that confirms our beliefs and ignoring contradictory information, leading to closed-mindedness and resistance to change.

Satisficing is a heuristic that allows people to make decisions quickly and efficiently by selecting the first option that meets a minimum level of acceptability.
Satisficing is useful when faced with limited time or resources, but can result in suboptimal decisions if the minimum level of acceptability is too low.
Satisficing should be used judiciously and in appropriate circumstances, especially when the stakes are high or the consequences of a suboptimal decision are significant.

The availability heuristic involves making decisions based on how easily we can bring certain examples or experiences to mind.
This heuristic can be useful when complete information is not available, but can lead to overestimating the likelihood of rare events that are more memorable.

The representativeness heuristic involves making judgments based on how closely something matches our mental image or prototype of a certain category or group.
This heuristic can lead to assumptions based on mental stereotypes, rather than objective information.

People often rely on heuristics or mental shortcuts when making decisions rather than evaluating every possible option and outcome.
Decision-making research has led to more nuanced decision-making models, such as prospect theory and dual-process theory.
These models consider the cognitive and emotional factors that influence decision-making and offer a more realistic view of how people make choices in everyday life.

Models of decision-making are frameworks or theories that explain how individuals make decisions.
These models help us understand the factors influencing human decision-making and provide insights into people's decision-making strategies.