Moving through this crazy world, I am forced to process a lot of information to make decisions. A heuristic is a mental shortcut used to make decisions around complex issues, often to the exclusion of critical information. By taking the shortcut, I reduce my cognitive load. Heuristics can help me manage resources like time and mental energy, but taking the shortcut can easily lead to self-sabotage. (Yikes!) In relationships, a heuristic is often employed to avoid pain and conflict. I can unconsciously push someone away before they abandon me first.
An anchoring heuristic is one that often includes a bias. It occurs when you rely on the first piece of information you receive, even if irrelevant. An available heuristic allows you to make up a story that determines the outcome based on previous experiences. People may break off a relationship simply because the pain of the previous one is easily remembered and available.
A representative heuristic usually involves an assumption that is often false. A person who is quiet might lead you to assume they are withdrawn, disconnected, or unhappy with you for some reason. In reality, they may just feel like being quiet due to some process unrelated to you. Satisficing is a decision-making strategy in which the first option that satisfies your criteria is selected, regardless of any factual information that might support an alternative conclusion. Let’s satisfy my inquisitive mood with a whisper on heuristics:
A change of mind, a course correction, a transformation, or an issue of the heart could provide considerable cognitive burdens. Mental space is limited when holding large amounts of emotional content. When the cognitive load reaches a level that is adding stress to an already loaded system, the reaction can be overwhelming. Employing a mental shortcut releases the compressed energy. Humans easily overlook the stress or tension that has accumulated in the central nervous system, as stress has become a way of life.
Anxiety occurs when complex decisions create a situation where a person is dedicating too much energy to thoughts of the future. Depression occurs when a person has not cleared the emotional debris of the past, and they are living with a constant burden around their previous experiences and decisions. Treating both conditions holistically is no minor task, because it requires actions that lead to mindfulness, a change in behavior, and a possible lifestyle change.
While there can be an advantage to using heuristics, the most common effect is self-sabotage. Making a poor decision is often a product of incorrect thinking. A large amount of stress or tension held in the system is often a feature of empathy. Taking on the problems of the world can greatly reduce cognitive skills. Over-cooperating, trying to please, taking on too much responsibility in a relationship or family dynamic, or just plain trying too hard can increase stress levels to the point of poor decision-making, poor performance, and clouded consciousness.
People who cannot manage their stress are often challenged with reaching higher levels of self-awareness. Pain is often the source, and the use of a heuristic is the symptom. Take time to let go of the suffering and pain from the past to rise above the need for mental shortcuts. Awareness of using heuristics to one’s detriment is the first sign of change, healing, and self-love.
Bring joy, ease suffering and create beauty, then dance like you mean it!
Blessings, Russell
Paul Slovic eventually developed the notion of the affect heuristic, in which people substitute the question “What do I think about it?” with “How do I feel about it?” When surveying people about the benefits and risks of various technologies, people who liked a technology exaggerated its benefits and underplayed its risks; when they disliked a technology, the opposite happened. Unknown Author
