Heuristics: a source of judgement fallacies or decision-making aids?

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2012 in the subject Psychology - Methods, grade: 20, University of St Andrews, course: Behavioural Economics, language: English, abstract: This review essay explores different perspectives and conceptualizations

of the study of heuristics, decision-making rules which operate under constrained

time and computation (Kahneman, 2011). Two opposed models of heuristics that

assume conditions of bounded rationality, the heuristics-and-biases and the fastand-

frugal framework, are assessed. Whereas the former evaluates heuristics in

terms of logical rationality and postulates that humans exhibit predictable

fallacies in judgement, the latter focuses on ecological validity, and suggests that

humans possess an adaptive toolbox of evolutionary developed decision-making

rules which enable better decision making. Finally, alternative explanations and

limitations of existing research programs will be explored, concluding with a

demand for a rigorous evaluation of experimental designs as well as outlining

conditions for a possible synthesis.