Back to glossary
Heuristics description
Back to glossary
Heuristics description
We use heuristics in many everyday situations. One type of heuristic is the affect heuristic, where our emotional response to something influences our judgement, often without us realising it. For example, if we have a positive emotional reaction to a brand, we might assume that their products are high quality, even if we don’t have evidence to support this belief. Similarly, if we dislike a particular person or company, we might judge their actions more negatively, regardless of the facts.
The important thing to note about heuristics is that they aren't necessarily wrong. As broad generalisations, they can sometimes lead to accurate predictions or good decisions. However, even if the outcome is favourable, it wasn't achieved through logical reasoning. Heuristics can cause us to ignore key details and give disproportionate weight to irrelevant ones. So, while heuristics may sometimes lead to good outcomes, they do so without a solid, reasoned foundation, meaning our decisions are based on mental shortcuts rather than careful thinking.
We build small, director-led, teams of sector experts who are with you from brief to debrief. As an employee-owned company, every one of us is invested in delivering quality, value, and long-term impact.
From agile testing to deep-dive strategic studies, we design research to meet your specific objectives. The agility of our in-house operations team and strength of our UK-wide recruiter network enable seamless execution at scale.
Our sector-focused teams have decades of experience understanding audiences and the complexities of the markets in which our clients operate. Working collaboratively we deliver actionable insight which drives positive change.
We build small, director-led, teams of sector experts who are with you from brief to debrief. As an employee-owned company, every one of us is invested in delivering quality, value, and long-term impact.
From agile testing to deep-dive strategic studies, we design research to meet your specific objectives. The agility of our in-house operations team and strength of our UK-wide recruiter network enable seamless execution at scale.
Our sector-focused teams have decades of experience understanding audiences and the complexities of the markets in which our clients operate. Working collaboratively we deliver actionable insight which drives positive change.
Contact us today to discuss your next market research project and discover how we could become a valuable extension of your team.
Contact us
Contact us today to discuss your next market research project and discover how we could become a valuable extension of your team.
Contact us 
