L15 - Simple Heuristics that make us smart: Gigerenzer

Question 1

What is the classical enlightenment idea of rationality?

Answer 1

The Economic ‘Man’

“It is rational to maximise one utility” (e.g. gain as much money)

Able to calculate/perceive all options and outcomes if given all the time in the world

Question 2

What is the instrumental view of reality?

Answer 2

What is rational is whatever kind of thinking best helps people achieve their goals.

Question 3

What is the bounded rationality view of rationality?

Answer 3

Human rational behaviour is shaped by two forces, the task environments and the computational capabilities of the actor.

Question 4

What is the ecologically bounded view of rationality?

Answer 4

In order to survive, our mind has evolved to be able to make inferences that are fast, frugal and accurate.

We have mental ‘tools’ that we use depending on the situation.

Question 5

What were Gigerenzer’s criticisms of the Heuristic’s and Biases approach?

Answer 5

Comparing apples with oranges - The normative view of rationality is not widely accepted and generally unreasonable.

Now you see it, now you don’t - biases disappear when you frame problems in terms of frequencies

Explanation by description - heuristics don’t help us to explain when or how people decide or judge in the way they do.

Question 6

When Gigerenzer changed the Linda feminist bank teller question from a percentage to a frequency what did the percentage of people who thought she was a feminist bank teller drop to?

What was it originally?

Answer 6

22%

Originally 85%

Question 7

What was Gigerenzer’s alternative approach to the H&B approach?

Describe it briefly.

Answer 7

The mind as an “adaptive tool box”

The mind relies on one-function devices to provide solutions to specific decision problems.

Question 8

What does Gigerenzer say a ‘general approach’ to a theory needs to be valid

Answer 8

Specification - Specify a decision-making heuristic in mathematical terms

Simulation - See if it is more accurate at making decisions than other models

Prediction - See if it accounts for or fits the behaviour of actual decision makers

Question 9

What are ‘Fast and Frugal Heuristics’?

Answer 9

Models of decision making that exploit features of the environment to maximum advantage.

Question 10

What are the 3 questions that heuristics need to address in order to be useful?

Answer 10

1. How should you search the environment for information?
2. When should you stop searching?
3. When you stop, what decision should you make?

Question 11

How do ‘Fast and Frugal Heuristics’ work?

Answer 11

They ‘take a bet’ on the way the world works.

They do not use all the information and do not strive for perfect accuracy.

Question 12

What is the ecologically bounded advantage that ‘fast and frugal heuristics’ has?

Answer 12

They reduce the time and memory demands on the decision maker.

Question 13

The ‘take the best’ heuristic is a fast and frugal heuristic.

When do people use the ‘take the best’ heuristic?

Answer 13

When you need to decide between two alternatives and you have some knowledge about both.

Question 14

How do people use the ‘take the best’ heuristic?

Answer 14

They assume that the stimuli (e.g. picking between two cities) are represented in terms of cues.

These cues are have binary (must be yes or no) ‘features’ or ‘properties’ (e.g. does it have a AFL team, is it a capital)

Question 15

Using the ‘take the best’ heuristic, does recognising a stimuli mean it is more likely to be the best choice?

Answer 15

Yes

Question 16

Using the ‘take the best’ heuristic, if you recognise both stimuli how should you determine which one to choose?

Answer 16

Choose based on the best cue.

Question 17

Describe the recognition principle (step 1) in the ‘take the best’ heuristic.

Answer 17

If only one of the two objects is recognized, then choose the recognized object.

If neither is recognized, choose randomly.

Question 18

In the ‘take the best’ heuristic, what should you do if you recognize both objects (step 1)?

Answer 18

Search for cue values (step 2).

For the two objects, retrieve the cue values of the highest ranking cue from memory.

Question 19

In the ‘take the best’ heuristic, what is the discrimination rule (step 3)?

Answer 19

Decide whether the cue discriminates.

The cue is said to discriminate between two objects if one has a positive cue value and the other does not.

Question 20

In the ‘take the best’ heuristic, what is the cue substitution principle (step 4)?

Answer 20

If the cue discriminates, then stop searching for cue values. If the cue does not discriminate, go back to step 2 (search for cue values) and continue with the next cue until a cue that discriminates is found.

Question 21

In the ‘take the best’ heuristic, what is maximising rule for choice (step 5)?

Answer 21

Choose the object with the positive cue value (answer = yes). If no cue discriminates, then choose randomly.

Question 22

How did the ‘take the best’ (TTB) heuristic compare in frugality and accuracy when compared against multiple regression and Dawes Rule’ in Gigerenzer’s test of accuracy in determining which cities were largest?

Answer 22

It fit nearly as nicely as multiple linear regression and had far more frugality (quicker and easier).

Question 23

Does ‘take the best’ explain real decision-making behaviour?

Answer 23

It is not used by everyone and we do not know why people choose the models that they do.

Question 24

What were the results of Dhami & Ayton’s (2003) study of whether judges used TTB heuristics in the U.K.?

Answer 24

That 95% of all decisions could be predicted by only 3 matching heuristics.

This means that magistrates make decisions using the fast and frugal way (TTB).

Question 25

What is Dawes’ rule?

Answer 25

That all cues should be used

Question 26

Is it bad that professionals use the ‘take the best’ heuristic when making important decisions in their job?

Answer 26

Not necessarily, perhaps their experience has led them to be able to determine which cues are the most valid.