
Contents
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Making Money Making Money
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1/N rule: Invest equally in each of the N alternatives. 1/N rule: Invest equally in each of the N alternatives.
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Catching Balls Catching Balls
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What Is a Heuristic? What Is a Heuristic?
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Building Blocks of Heuristics Building Blocks of Heuristics
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Evolved Capacities Evolved Capacities
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The Adaptive Toolbox The Adaptive Toolbox
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What Is Not a Heuristic? What Is Not a Heuristic?
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What Is Ecological Rationality? What Is Ecological Rationality?
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The Structure of Environments The Structure of Environments
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Uncertainty Uncertainty
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Number of Alternatives Number of Alternatives
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Sample Size Sample Size
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Redundancy Redundancy
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Variability Variability
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Sources of Environment Structure Sources of Environment Structure
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What We Already Know What We Already Know
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What Is in the Adaptive Toolbox? What Is in the Adaptive Toolbox?
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How Are Heuristics Selected? How Are Heuristics Selected?
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Memory Constrains Selection Memory Constrains Selection
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Learning by Feedback Learning by Feedback
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Ecological Rationality Ecological Rationality
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Are There Individual Differences in the Use of Heuristics? Are There Individual Differences in the Use of Heuristics?
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Why Not Use a General-Purpose Optimizing Strategy Instead of an Adaptive Toolbox? Why Not Use a General-Purpose Optimizing Strategy Instead of an Adaptive Toolbox?
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Why Not Use More Complex Decision Strategies? Why Not Use More Complex Decision Strategies?
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Methodology Methodology
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The Rational and the Psychological The Rational and the Psychological
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1 What Is Ecological Rationality?
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Published:March 2012
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Abstract
In our uncertain world, more information and computation do not always yield better decisions—simple heuristics that employ few cues and little processing can often match or beat optimizing strategies. This chapter explores when and why less can be more in decision making, through the study of the ecological rationality of decision mechanisms used in appropriate contexts. Ecological rationality appears when the structure of boundedly rational decision mechanisms matches the structure of information in the environment. The chapter introduces the ways that heuristic mechanisms are constructed, the types of information structure they can be applied to, and how to study the intelligent, adaptive behavior that emerges from the interaction of both mind and world.
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