Reasoning with heuristics: theoretical explanations and beyond

Abstract

Human reasoners often tend to use simple and rapid strategies, heuristics, to make inferences. These are adaptative mechanisms of a non-logical nature. In some occasions they are very useful but in other cases they lead subjects to commit systematic cognitive biases. The purpose of this work has been to identify some of the main theoretical proposals on heuristics and cognitive biases in reasoning highlighting the framework of the Dual Process Theories. According to such theoretical perspectives, there are two types of thinking processes. Type 1 that is intuitive, automatic, unconscious, implicit and fast and Type 2 that is reflective, controlled, conscious, explicit and slow. This work ends with some brief considerations about the relationship between heuristics and cognitive biases and the study of individual differences in reasoning