Performance of choice heuristics

Choice heuristics are heuristics that involve selecting a single option or action. These heuristics are used to make decisions quickly and easily, without having to go through all the data or possible alternatives. The performance of choice heuristics can vary drastically depending on the context in which the heuristic is being utilized. In some situations, choice heuristics may lead to choices that are close to an optimal solution; in others the choice may lead to suboptimal results. In general, however, choice heuristics tend to be more reliable when applied to problems that are limited in scope and when the data available is sufficient to generate a reasonable decision. As the complexity of a problem or the amount of data increases, the success of a choice heuristic decreases.