Why and when do simple heuristics work? (2001)
Authors
Abstract
(from the chapter) H. Simon provided the metaphor of a pair of scissors for thinking about rational behavior: 1 blade has to do with the psychology of the organism and the other with the structure of the environment. In this chapter, the authors think of the 2 blades as the simple heuristics used by organisms and the structures of environments that govern their performance. A strategy cannot be evaluated without taking into account the environment in which it operates. Attempts to model just 1 blade of the scissors simply will not cut it. The authors provide several examples of simple heuristics at work in the world and discuss how the environment determines their success or failure for a strategy. Focusing on the capabilities of the organism and the structure of the environment, the authors explore the question of how organisms may choose among the heuristics available to them. In conclusion, the authors generalize about the properties of environments that allow heuristics to work and speculate about the psychological building blocks of decision strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)
Bibliographic entry
Goldstein, D. G., Gigerenzer, G., Hogarth, R. M., Kacelnik, A., Kareev, Y., Klein, G., Martignon, L., Payne, J. W., & Schlag, K. H. (2001). Why and when do simple heuristics work? In G. Gigerenzer & R. Selten (Eds.), Bounded rationality: The adaptive toolbox. Dahlem Workshop Report (pp. 173-190). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. (Full text)
Miscellaneous
| Publication year | 2001 | |
|---|---|---|
| Document type: | In book | |
| Publication status: | Published | |
| External URL: | http://library.mpib-berlin.mpg.de/ft/dg/DG_Why_2001.pdf View | |
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