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The Recognition Heuristic: A Review of Theory and Tests

The recognition heuristic is a prime example of how, by exploiting a match between mind and environment, a simple mental strategy can lead to efficient decision making. The proposal of the heuristic initiated a debate about the processes underlying the use of recognition in decision making. We revie...

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Autores principales: Pachur, Thorsten, Todd, Peter M., Gigerenzer, Gerd, Schooler, Lael J., Goldstein, Daniel G.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Research Foundation 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3132682/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21779266
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00147
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author Pachur, Thorsten
Todd, Peter M.
Gigerenzer, Gerd
Schooler, Lael J.
Goldstein, Daniel G.
author_facet Pachur, Thorsten
Todd, Peter M.
Gigerenzer, Gerd
Schooler, Lael J.
Goldstein, Daniel G.
author_sort Pachur, Thorsten
collection PubMed
description The recognition heuristic is a prime example of how, by exploiting a match between mind and environment, a simple mental strategy can lead to efficient decision making. The proposal of the heuristic initiated a debate about the processes underlying the use of recognition in decision making. We review research addressing four key aspects of the recognition heuristic: (a) that recognition is often an ecologically valid cue; (b) that people often follow recognition when making inferences; (c) that recognition supersedes further cue knowledge; (d) that its use can produce the less-is-more effect – the phenomenon that lesser states of recognition knowledge can lead to more accurate inferences than more complete states. After we contrast the recognition heuristic to other related concepts, including availability and fluency, we carve out, from the existing findings, some boundary conditions of the use of the recognition heuristic as well as key questions for future research. Moreover, we summarize developments concerning the connection of the recognition heuristic with memory models. We suggest that the recognition heuristic is used adaptively and that, compared to other cues, recognition seems to have a special status in decision making. Finally, we discuss how systematic ignorance is exploited in other cognitive mechanisms (e.g., estimation and preference).
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spelling pubmed-31326822011-07-21 The Recognition Heuristic: A Review of Theory and Tests Pachur, Thorsten Todd, Peter M. Gigerenzer, Gerd Schooler, Lael J. Goldstein, Daniel G. Front Psychol Psychology The recognition heuristic is a prime example of how, by exploiting a match between mind and environment, a simple mental strategy can lead to efficient decision making. The proposal of the heuristic initiated a debate about the processes underlying the use of recognition in decision making. We review research addressing four key aspects of the recognition heuristic: (a) that recognition is often an ecologically valid cue; (b) that people often follow recognition when making inferences; (c) that recognition supersedes further cue knowledge; (d) that its use can produce the less-is-more effect – the phenomenon that lesser states of recognition knowledge can lead to more accurate inferences than more complete states. After we contrast the recognition heuristic to other related concepts, including availability and fluency, we carve out, from the existing findings, some boundary conditions of the use of the recognition heuristic as well as key questions for future research. Moreover, we summarize developments concerning the connection of the recognition heuristic with memory models. We suggest that the recognition heuristic is used adaptively and that, compared to other cues, recognition seems to have a special status in decision making. Finally, we discuss how systematic ignorance is exploited in other cognitive mechanisms (e.g., estimation and preference). Frontiers Research Foundation 2011-07-05 /pmc/articles/PMC3132682/ /pubmed/21779266 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00147 Text en Copyright © 2011 Pachur, Todd, Gigerenzer, Schooler and Goldstein. http://www.frontiersin.org/licenseagreement This is an open-access article subject to a non-exclusive license between the authors and Frontiers Media SA, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited and other Frontiers conditions are complied with.
spellingShingle Psychology
Pachur, Thorsten
Todd, Peter M.
Gigerenzer, Gerd
Schooler, Lael J.
Goldstein, Daniel G.
The Recognition Heuristic: A Review of Theory and Tests
title The Recognition Heuristic: A Review of Theory and Tests
title_full The Recognition Heuristic: A Review of Theory and Tests
title_fullStr The Recognition Heuristic: A Review of Theory and Tests
title_full_unstemmed The Recognition Heuristic: A Review of Theory and Tests
title_short The Recognition Heuristic: A Review of Theory and Tests
title_sort recognition heuristic: a review of theory and tests
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3132682/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21779266
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00147
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