David Gideon Katimbo

10/28/2021
Heuristics
Week 07
A Study to Investigate How Heuristics Affects Decision Making

Participants

● Participant 1: Friend, 34-year-old, Male, Architectural designer

● Participant 2: Friend, 25-year-old, Female, Midwife
● Participant 3: Friend, 32 years old, Female, Administrative assistant
● Participant 4: Causin, 30 years old, male, student and health coach intern
Procedures

This study was to investigate how people use the rules-of-thumb in decision making. All four

participants were selected according to their reliability and accessibility. I met all the participants face to face in

different time intervals according to the different appointments we had previously made introducing the activity

to them. I told them that the activity was to help me investigate a few things that I learned from my Psychology

class. With each participant’s consent, I handed out the questionnaires and instructed them to answer the

questions in the questionnaires.

Results

In the first question, three participants selected a trapeze artist, and one participant selected farmer as

shown in Table 1 below. In the second question, all the participants selected participants in the best-selling

novel as one that ends with “ing”. In the third question, all four participants selected Mario. Lastly, question

four has a mixture of responses. For more/fewer than 80, one participant selected fewer while the other selected

more than 80. And for fewer/more than 200, one selected fewer than 200 and the other selected more than 200.

Table 1
Varied responses to judgment-based scenarios
1. Peculiar cousin Rudy most likely is a... Responses
1
 A. Farmer 1
B. Librarian 0
C. Trapeze Artist 3
D. Surgeon 0
E. Lawyer 0
2. A best-selling novel is more likely to have words ending
in...
A. ————-ing 4
B. —————n- 0
3. Vito and Mario get shut out of registration, and...
A. Vito is more upset 4
B. Mario is more upset 0
4. How many students are enrolled in St. Edward’s New
College program? (Average guess)
A. Fewer / more than 80 80
B. Fewer / more than 200 140

Discussion

The results from the activity showed three participants selecting a trapeze artist and one participant

selecting a farmer. The responses for the three participants who selected a trapeze artist were based on what is

assumed to be an artist’s character. Although all the three who choose trapeze knew not what or rather who a

Trapeze artist is, they based their selection on one’s personality. However, the one participant who chose

otherwise supported her answer by mentioning how it is very possible for a farmer to have a personality

different from what is commonly expected. She added that “I do not know what a trapeze artist is anyway”. In

the second question, all participants selected the words ending with “ing”. When all the four were asked why

they had an ending with “ing”, all answered that according to the novels they have read the words are most

likely to end with “ing”.For the third question, all participants chose Mario to be upset because according to all

the four, Mario’s situation was way too immediate. this was even reported by their facial expressions.

Implications

2
 People formulate judgments to quickly find solutions to situations right in front of them. Different clues

around can trigger one’s reasoning and hence prompting a person to decide on something according to the

surrounding clues. Although Heuristic helps to form quick judgements, the study shows that a given percentage

of people are more likely to make wrong decisions depending on the available clues.

Peer Feedback

Although I looked at the structural composition of peers’ study, my review focused more on how well

peers observed and differentiated the different rules-of-thumb from their participants.

Giving feedback to fellow students specifically for the Heuristic assessment has enabled me to realize

the types of heuristics that I commonly use. I have furthermore learned that after using a given heuristic, it is

hard for me to find any reason that challenges my decision.