Have you ever heard the term "heuristics?" It might sound like an intimidating word - but it's actually quite simple! Heuristics refer to problem solving strategies, decision making shortcuts, mental shortcuts and biases that our brains use to navigate the world. Here's everything you need to know about heuristics.
Heuristics are mental shortcuts or rules of thumb that people use when faced with new information or a difficult decision. We can think of them as cognitive tools we use to help us make sense of complex situations quickly and efficiently.
Let’s say we’re trying to decide which smartphone brand is best between two brands “A” & “B”. As humans, we would naturally rely on past experience with each brand (if any), reviews from friends/family/online bloggers and advertisements on TV/newspapers sometimes without diving deep into details such specifications, clock speed etc. This way of deciding based on first-hand and second-hand experiences is justified by representativeness heuristic in some sense!
At their core, heuristics work by simplifying complicated decisions or tasks down into more manageable chunks. Rather than considering every detail of a situation, we focus only on what seems most relevant at the time.
When buying clothes online customers try going through images posted by previous buyers rather using official pictures this comes under availability heuristic- so now they feel confident while making purchases.
Our reliance on heuristics stems from how our brains evolved over time. When early humans faced life-threatening situations in the wild – such as encountering predators – they needed quick thinking skills that could be relied upon immediately rather than pausing for extensive pre-decisional analysis as this sometimes would not stop becoming prey! Our brains developed shortcut mechanisms like flying away /attacking the predator whoever was fit earlier which proved helpful over thousands of years
For instance, whenever someone walks in a dark and lonely place situated across the supermarket, they often start feeling spooky; this comes from times of our ancestors where threats would hide behind shadowy forest trees- hence risks associated with darkness is still networked into our subconscious today.
There are several types of heuristics - here are just two:
This heuristic involves making judgments about what's most likely based on how easily we can recall it. The more available something is to us (i.e., the easier it is to remember), the more likely we'll believe it. This could be particularly problematic when people rely on media-driven narratives instead getting better details which often causes great impact for societies.
We might assume that shark attacks happen all the time because every news outlet runs stories about them whenever an attack occurs. In fact, shark attacks against humans are relatively rare events.
This heuristic involves using stereotypes or prototypes as baselines for decision-making. We make assumptions about certain groups or situations based on past examples rather than going with pure logic while solving problems.- although not always true!
If you see your new colleague loves long hair, depending upon such things one may summarize their character based on external features without proper judgment or investigation – whereby their mathematical skills could overshadowed simply because they liked curls!
1) Daniel Kahneman’s “Thinking Fast and Slow”
2) Katy Milkman’s pop-culture-informed scientific studies outlined in her work “How To Change”
3) Annie Duke’s book title remains thought-provoking in order to understanding human behavior” Thinking In Bets"
4) James Kaufman & Robert Sternberg's "The Cambridge Handbook Of Creativity"
5) Nudge written by Richard Thaler and Cass SunsteinWhich__ outlines how human nudge agency can lead to positive societal changes.
