How do narratives relate to heuristics?

Behav Brain Sci. 2023 May 8:46:e94. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X22002710.

Abstract

Narratives and heuristics are both tools for dealing with uncertainty, intractability, and incommensurability, that is, for all real-world situations outside the domain of Bayesian decision theory. But how do narratives and heuristics relate? I suggest two links: Heuristics select narratives to explain events, and "big" narratives select the heuristics that people live by, to execute their values and moral principles.

Publication types

  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Bayes Theorem
  • Decision Making*
  • Heuristics*
  • Humans
  • Uncertainty