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Preferred term

affect heuristic  

Definition

  • Definition A judgment is said to be based on a heuristic when a person assesses a specified target attribute (e.g., the risk of an approaching stranger in the street) by substituting a related attribute that comes quickly to mind (e.g., intuitive feelings of fear or anxiety) for a more complex analysis (e.g., detailed reasons or calculations indicating why the risk is high or low). The affect heuristic describes an aspect of human thinking whereby feelings serve as cues to guide judgments and decisions. [Source: Encyclopedia of Social Psychology; Affect Heuristic]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/affect_heuristic

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