A Good Mind

In psychology, a heuristic is a mental shortcut or rule of thumb that helps you solve problems or make decisions more quickly and efficiently. Heuristics are often used when there is limited time or information available and can be useful in many different contexts.

Examples of heuristics include the availability heuristic, which involves making judgements based on the ease with which examples come to mind, and the representativeness heuristic, which involves making judgements based on how well something matches a prototype or stereotype.

While heuristics can be useful in many situations, they can also lead to errors in judgement and decision-making. For example, the availability heuristic can lead you to overestimate the likelihood of rare events if they are highly publicised, and the representativeness heuristic can lead you to make inaccurate judgements if you rely too heavily on stereotypes or assumptions.