Why Heuristics Work

2008/01/01 by Gerd Gigerenzer · 1 voice · 4 citations
Computer Science · Decision Sciences · #Cognitive Science and Mapping #Complex Systems and Decision Making #Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1745-6916.2008.00058.x

openalex publication_date 2008/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

The adaptive toolbox is a Darwinian-inspired theory that conceives of the mind as a modular system that is composed of heuristics, their building blocks, and evolved capacities. The study of the adaptive toolbox is descriptive and analyzes the selection and structure of heuristics in social and physical environments. The study of ecological rationality is prescriptive and identifies the structure of environments in which specific heuristics either succeed or fail. Results have been used for designing heuristics and environments to improve professional decision making in the real world.

Citations

• Use of Simple Heuristics to Target Macrolide Prescription in Children With Community-Acquired Pneumonia
• Approximating probabilistic inference in Bayesian belief networks is NP-hard
• The robust beauty of improper linear models in decision making.
• A BEHAVIORAL MODEL OF RATIONAL CHOICE
• Probabilistic mental models: A Brunswikian theory of confidence.
• The Evolution of Cooperation

Cited by

• Nudging in organizations: How to avoid behavioral interventions being just a façade
• Self-categorization as a basis of behavioural mimicry: Experiments in The Hive
• Social perception as induction and inference: An integrative model of intergroup differentiation, ingroup favoritism, and differential accuracy.
• MCMComm: Hardware-Software Co-Optimization for End-to-End Communication in Multi-Chip-Modules

Discussions

• #8 Gigerenzer, G. (2008). Why Heuristics Work. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(1), 20-29. doi.org/10.1111/j.17... [bsky, 0 points, 1 comments]