Availability Heuristic 😌
🧠 Psych - 19 / 100
Hey,
Today, we are talking about the Availability Heuristic 😌.
What is it?
Our tendency to overestimate the importance of information that is available to us.
It can also be referred to as your ability to make a conclusion or evaluate something, on the basis of first thing that comes to your mind related to that context.
Example:-
A person who tends to be a wine-drinker will argue with you that it is totally healthy for heart because he know his neighbour who used to do the same and lived to 100.
(But that’s the only thing he know 🤷♂️).
Where does it occur?
Everyday, you come across a lot of information which can be from the sources like newspapers, internet articles, blogs.
You may read something about increasing shark attacks and that gets stuck in your mind.
Next time, you are on the beach, You might feel a little hesistant before going for swimming because you think you might get attacked by a shark and thus, you ended up not doing it.
Why do I need to know?
There have been so many studies and even biases that tell that having little amount of information and knowledge about something can mess your decision making ability.
You may think you know everything about starting a business but the fact is, you don’t, most probably. There are a lot of other things you don’t know about a business.
Takeaways:-
When taking a decision, there is a high chance that you’ll do it on the basis on the recent information in your mind.
Availability Heuristic can lead you to incorrect assessments.
Just because something looms large in your memory does not necessarily mean that it is more common, so it can be helpful to rely on numerous tools and decision-making strategies when you are trying to make a choice.
References:-
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/availability-heuristic
https://www.verywellmind.com/availability-heuristic-2794824