Heuristic

From WikiMD's Wellnesspedia

Heuristic refers to a practical method not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect, but sufficient for the immediate goals. It is an approach to problem solving, learning, or discovery that employs a practical method not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect, but sufficient for the immediate goals. Where finding an optimal solution is impossible or impractical, heuristic methods can be used to speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution.

Overview[edit | edit source]

Heuristics can be mental shortcuts that ease the cognitive load of making a decision. Examples of this method include using a rule of thumb, an educated guess, an intuitive judgment, guesstimate, stereotyping, profiling, or common sense.

Types of Heuristics[edit | edit source]

There are several types of heuristics that are used in a variety of fields. Some of the most common types include:

  • Availability Heuristic: This heuristic is used when people estimate the probability of an outcome based on how easy that outcome is to imagine. As such, vivid or highly memorable possibilities will be perceived as being more likely than those that are harder to picture or are difficult to understand, resulting in a corresponding cognitive bias.
  • Representativeness Heuristic: This heuristic is used when people decide the probability of an event or the likelihood of a situation, based on a set of templates or stereotypical factors.
  • Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic: This heuristic is used in decision making and problem solving when an initial idea or number is set, and then adjustments are made until an acceptable value is reached.

Applications[edit | edit source]

Heuristics are used in many areas of life, including psychology, computer science, mathematics, and business. They are often used to simplify complex problems and make them easier to understand.

Limitations[edit | edit source]

While heuristics can be very useful, they can also lead to cognitive biases or systematic errors.

See Also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]


Heuristic Resources

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