Final answer:
A heuristic is a problem-solving strategy that serves as a mental shortcut to quickly solve problems. Commonly used in situations with too much information or limited time, heuristics are based on rules of thumb or intuition rather than logical reasoning. While they can be helpful in saving time, heuristics can also lead to less-than-optimal or incorrect decisions.
Step-by-step explanation:
A heuristic is a problem-solving strategy that serves as a mental shortcut to quickly solve problems. It is a general framework used to make decisions and save time. Heuristics are often based on rules of thumb or intuition, rather than on logical reasoning. They are commonly used when the brain is faced with too much information, when time is limited, or when the decision is unimportant.
For example, when deciding what to order off a menu, one may use the heuristic of choosing the daily special instead of carefully evaluating every option. In voting decisions, people often use the heuristic of voting for the candidate from their own party instead of studying the records of all the candidates.
However, it is important to note that heuristics can sometimes lead to less-than-optimal or incorrect decisions, as they rely on cognitive biases and may not always be rational or logical.