Gaze heuristic

The gaze heuristic is a heuristic used in directing correct motion to achieve a goal using one main variable. An example of the gaze heuristic is catching a ball. The gaze heuristic is one example of psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer's one good reason heuristic, where humans and animals are able to process large amounts of information quickly and react, regardless of whether the information is consciously processed.

The gaze heuristic is a critical element in animal behavior, being used in predation heavily. At the most basic level, the gaze heuristic ignores all casual relevant variables to make quick gut reactions.

Experimental studies have shown that if people ignore the fact they were solving a system of differential equations to catch said ball, and simply focus on one idea (like adjusting their running speed or positioning the arm) they will consistently arrive in the exact spot the ball is predicted to hit the ground. The gaze heuristic does not require knowledge of any of the variables required by the optimizing approach, nor does it require the catcher to integrate information, yet it allows the catcher to successfully catch the ball. A criticism is that application of the gaze heuristic is limited by simple situations far from real complexity of environment.

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