HEURISTICS
wiki says:
In psychology, heuristics are simple, efficient rules of thumb hard-coded by evolutionary processes which have been proposed to explain how people make decisions, come to judgments and solve problems, typically when facing complex problems or incomplete information. These rules work well under most circumstances, but in certain cases lead to systematic cognitive biases.
For instance, people may tend to perceive more expensive beers as tasting better than inexpensive ones. This finding holds true even when prices and brands are switched; putting the high price on the normally relatively inexpensive brand is enough to lead experimental participants to perceive that beer as tasting better than the beer that is normally relatively expensive. One might call this "price implies quality" bias.
and wrightwayconsulting.org say some more:Researchers have been studying the way the brain functions in making decisions for half a century. This research reveals that people use unconscious routines to cope with the complexity inherent in most decisions. These routines, rules of thumb or simplifying strategies, known as heuristics, direct our judgment and serve us well in most situations. However, sometimes they lead to serious errors resulting from unchecked biases, misperceptions or irrational anomalies in our thinking. These errors in judgment easily go unchecked because they are hardwired into our thinking process – we fail to recognize them even as we walk right into them.
Common heuristics, biases and judgment traps [can be found in the full text].
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