Table of Contents

[Introduction] [Site Map] [Bibliography]

Introduction

We have setup this page so that everyone can check the contraintuitive results that various fast-and-frugal heuristics achieve in a wide range of different environments. A thorough description of the heuristics and the theoretical background can be found in various publications (see bibliography) of this group including the book:

We have also provided a short sketch of the heuristics and the underlying problem -- for the impatient!

Tools:

We provide access to our simulation package in different ways:

• use our java applet if you have a browser with java support (we've tested it on various systems)
  
• download the entire application as a java byte-compiled jar-file -- you'll need a Java-Runtime-Environment (JRE-1.1) to run the application. (You will actually get two versions of this programm: one with a text-driven frontend for the command-line-hackers and another one with a Graphical User Interface -- both of them use the same calculation machine -- the 'backend')
  
• use our cgi-interface to the application that will run on our local machine (Please keep in mind though that this solution is not guaranteed to be accessible all the time. It's simply a question of resources which we rather want to provide to our local users than to the web...)

There is also the possibility to upload environments and run the heuristics on them, instead of the environments we have provided.

Where to go (Site Map)

Explanations of the contents of all the pages of this simulation:

applet	The applet interface - for Java-capable browsers.
application	Download the Java bytecode and let the application run within your JRE.
cgi-interface	A help-out for the Java-phob.
environments	Download the source data we are using in our simulations.
heuristics	An introduction to the heuristics used in the simulation area.
browser-info	An explanation that running Java applets is difficult on various systems.

Bibliography

Gigerenzer, G., & Hoffrage, U. (1995). How to improve Bayesian reasoning without instruction: frequency formats. Psychological review, 102, 684-704.
Volltext/Full Text

Gigerenzer, G., & Goldstein, D.G. (1996). Reasoning the fast and frugal way: models of bounded rationality. Psychological review, 103, 650-669. Gigerenzer, G. (1997). Bounded rationality: models of fast and frugal inference. Swiss journal of economics and statistics, 133, 201-217.
Volltext/Full Text

Gigerenzer, G., Czerlinski, J., & Martignon, L. (1999). How good are fast and frugal heuristics?. In: Shanteau, J., Mellers, B. & Schum, D. (Eds.), Decision research from bayesian approaches to normative systems : reflections on the contributions of Ward Edwards, (pp. 81-104). Norwell, MA: Kluwer.

Gerd Gigerenzer, Peter M. Todd, ABC Research Group (1999). Simple Heuristics That Make Us Smart, Evolution and Cognition Series, Oxford University Press, August 1999