Available Heuristic

The Available Heuristic is a mental shortcut people use to make decisions based on the information that readily comes to mind. When we think of something easily, like recent news events, we often assume it's more common or likely than it really is. For example, after hearing about airplane accidents, one might overestimate the dangers of flying, simply because those incidents are fresh in memory. This heuristic helps us make quick judgments but can also lead to biases and errors in our understanding of situations.