We often make predictions based on how much a description fits our preconceived stereotypes. This leads to ignoring base rates (base rate neglect) and the accuracy of the description.

Representative heuristic

An oversimplified representation of group. It often focuses on negative characteristics.

Stereotype

The self-based heuristic refers to the degree to which an individual’s own characteristics contribute to ratings of another’s personality. We use the self as a reference to judge others.

Self-Based Heuristic (SBH)

The emotion at the time of hearing about something affects our judgement of it. On the most basic level if we are in a bad mood, we will evaluate something worse and if we are in a good mood, we will evaluate it as better. 

Affect Heuristic

Fast and frugal heuristics are used during the decision-making process when understanding of the situation and the time and cognitive power needed to make the decision is limited (bounded rationality). 

Fast and Frugal Cognitive Heuristics

People use the popularity of an idea to inform what kind of content they select. It is a continuous cycle in which people see a post has many likes, so they share it, garnering more likes.

Bandwagon Heuristic

When people equate the popularity of ideas to the quality of the ideas. People are more willing to adopt what their peers have deemed as valuable.

Endorsement Heuristic

A type of effective heuristic that involves concentrating on the desired outcome as a way to start solving a problem.

Working Backwards

To estimate the frequency or likelihood of something (an event, class, etc.), judgements are made based on how easy it is to remember something. When examples come quickly, easily and fluently, the frequencies and likelihood is assumed to be large. The greater the use of automatic processes, the greater the resulting bias.

Availability Heuristic

System 1 often substitutes hard-to-answer questions with easier ones (without the awareness of system 2).  

Substituting Questions (Heuristic Questions)

When people consider a value and then have to estimate an unknown quantity. The estimated number will stay close to original number considered, whether or not the original number is related to the unknown quantity. There is debate on whether the effect is an adjustment heuristic (Tversky), an example of priming (Kahneman), or both.

Anchoring

- Substituting questions
- Representative heuristic 
- Availability heuristic
- Affect heuristic
- Anchoring 
- Stereotype
- Self-Based Heuristic (SBH)
- Frugal Cognitive Heuristic
- Bandwagon heuristic
- Endorsement heuristic
- Working backwards

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Columbia University

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Alma College

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"Rules of thumb" and mental "shortcuts" that help us to reason under uncertainty. They are very economical and typically effective, however they cause systematic and predictable errors. When employed in cognitive tasks, they lead to biases in  judgement and decisions. 

Heuristic (Cognitive)

Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Nota, 2013.

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. science, 185(4157), 1124-1131.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/185/4157/1124.abstract

Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases

Goldstein, E. B. (2014). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience. Nelson Education.


Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience

Aronson, Elliot, and Joshua Aronson. The Social Animal. Worth Publishers, Macmillan Learning, 2018.

The Social Animal

Hadlington, L., Harkin, L. J., Kuss, D., Newman, K., & Ryding, F. C. (2022, January 13). Perceptions of Fake News, Misinformation, and Disinformation Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Exploration. Psychology of Popular Media. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000387

Perceptions of Fake News, Misinformation, and Disinformation Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Exploration

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Humans (and other animals) are considered cognitive misers. This is some being that conserves mental energy by simplifying the complexity of cognition. It leads to taking mental shortcuts  (heuristics) which can bias behavior.

Cognitive Misers

Some environmental conditions are more likely to trigger the use of cognitive heuristics than others. These are when:
- careful thinking about an issue isn't needed;
- there is a lot of information that is not able to be entirely processed; 
- the issue at hand is not very important;
- there is a lack of knowledge that is needed to make a decision;
- people are in emotional states.

Conditions for Heuristic Usage

Our behavior is largely due to factors out of our control and awareness (such as heuristics). However, when we are asked to explain our behaviors, we readily provide reasoning for it while reconstructing the event. It often stems from wanting to look good to ourselves and to others.

Self-justification

Types of heuristics

Using heuristics in reasoning under uncertainty leads to predictable biases in behavior.  

Cognitive Bias

A number of errors in decision-making may result from an over-reliance on heuristics. These result in cognitive biases:
* Anchoring bias
* Confirmation bias
* Hindsight bias
* Representative bias
* Availability bias

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