Tilburg University Simplifying and facilitating comprehension Keren, Gideon; Breugelmans, Seger Published in: Review of General Psychology DOI: 10.1177/1089268020943860 Publication date: 2020 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in Tilburg University Research Portal Citation for published version (APA): Keren, G., & Breugelmans, S. (2020). Simplifying and facilitating comprehension: The “as if” heuristic and Its Implications for psychological science. 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Download date: 28. sep. 2021 RGPXXX10.1177/1089268020943860Review of General PsychologyKeren and Breugelmans 943860research-article2020 Original Article Review of General Psychology 1 –15 Simplifying and Facilitating Comprehension: © 2020 The Author(s) The “as if” Heuristic and Its Implications Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI:https://doi.org/10.1177/1089268020943860 10.1177/1089268020943860 for Psychological Science journals.sagepub.com/home/rgp Gideon Keren1 and Seger M. Breugelmans1 Abstract Simplicity is a fundamental tenet of cognition intended to cope with a complex and intricate world. Based on the writings of the German philosopher Hans Vaihinger, this article introduces a wide-ranging simplification scheme denoted the “as if” heuristic. Following this heuristic, much of our productive and constructive thoughts about the world, specifically in science, are based on idealized fictitious assumptions. Although descriptions of the world as portrayed by psychological models and theories may contain fictitious elements (antithetical or at least indifferent to the search for truth), they afford a simplification tool that facilitates our comprehension of a complex and obscured world. Numerous examples from the psychological literature in which the “as if” heuristic is apparent are presented. Specifically, we analyze the implications of exploiting the heuristic for the development of psychological constructs, theory building, and the foundations of psychological measurement. While highlighting the gains acquired from the use of the “as if” heuristic, we also discuss its possible pitfalls if not properly used. Keywords cognition, fictions, heuristic, models, simplification, validity Introduction 2003) following which the search for simplicity drives a wide range of cognitive processes. The pursuit for simplicity and Human behavior is multifaceted, overly rich, and exces- parsimony is further promoted in philosophy, for example, in sively complex to be understood without first simplifying it. Ockham’s razor1 according to which simpler theories are How simplification is attained, at either the perceptual or preferable (supposedly, more likely to be true). Researchers cognitive levels, is a fundamental psychological question employ theories, models, and metaphors that explicitly or for which there is more than one answer. A common scheme implicitly simplify reality so as to make it amenable to empir- of attaining simplification is by searching for and generat- ical investigations and formulate it in a comprehensive man- ing patterns. People tend to perceive patterns as units or ner, given our limited cognitive capacity. wholes allowing them to simplify perception and cognition. What are possible cognitive devices that may promote This tendency can be traced back to Gestalt psychology and simplification? One common route is the use of heuristics, its laws of organization (e.g., Wagemans, Elder, et al., 2012; the original meaning (in Greek) referring to a method of Wagemans, Feldman, et al., 2012). Broadly, the term Gestalt discovery. In the past few decades, heuristics have been means form or pattern; an elementary tenet of the Gestalt used and defined in several (yet highly similar) ways. For school is the search for patterns with a robust preference for instance, in the context of problem solving, it has been the simplest ones (Garner, 1970). For instance, the “law of described as a sort of interim reasoning supposed to Prägnanz” (law of simplicity) postulates that stimuli tend to be perceived in their most simple form. Gestalt principles, such as figure–ground, closure, proximity, or continuation, 1Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands all promote in one way or another simplification while Corresponding Author: maintaining internal consistency (e.g., Rock, 1975). Gideon Keren, Tilburg University, Prof. Cobbenhagenlaan 225, 5037 DB More recently, psychologists have dubbed the so-called Tilburg, The Netherlands. “simplicity principle” (e.g., Chater & Vitányi, 2003; Feldman, Email: [email protected] 2 Review of General Psychology 00(0) facilitate the discovery of suitable solutions (Polya, 1945). for a better comprehension of our intricate world. In that Computer scientists and researchers of artificial intelligence respect, the manner by which he examines the “as if” (AI) consider it a shortcut method for solving problems construct may be seen as a pure cognitive-psychological (Newell & Simon, 1972) in a quick manner which implic- investigation. On the other hand, the proposed conjecture itly assumes an optimal trade-off between accuracy and regarding researchers’ cognitive processes is used to under- speed (often resulting in a good enough approximation stand the nature and development of scientific models and rather than perfect solution). In psychology, the term has empirical explorations and how these are understood and been advanced by the research program initiated by interpreted. As such, it can be viewed as a methodological, Kahneman and Tversky (1974) who proposed that under cognitive tool for further development of psychological conditions of uncertainty, people tend to employ a “limited science. number of simplifying heuristics rather than more formal The remainder of this article is constructed as follows. and extensive algorithmic processing” (Gilovich et al., We briefly introduce Vaihinger’s framework and examine 2002, p. xv). its key constructs of fictions and the “as if” heuristic. The In this article, we present yet another mean of simplifica- implications of this framework, in particular, for psycho- tion denoted the “as if” heuristic. Its central tenet is that logical science research, are then discussed and analyzed. It human cognition employs simplified descriptions and theo- is proposed that encapsulated in Vaihinger’s analysis is a ries which, strictly speaking, are often fictitious (and hence sort of validity assessment that is essential for understand- false). This heuristic enables us to capture the essentials in ing and elucidating research in psychological science. We a suitable manner, thus offering optimal means for mean- elaborate on several representative examples to illustrate ingful comprehension of the world. We implicitly pretend the significance of Vaihinger’s approach. The final discus- “as if” our portrayal of the world is precise and complete; sion elaborates on the overall consequences of his perspec- although this is fictitious, it affords a useful and better tive and examines its possible role in the development and understanding of the world around us. A common represen- explanation of empirical results and the interpretation of tative example of the “as if” heuristic is rationalization theories and models. (e.g., Cushman, 2020). Specifically, the mind attempts to rationalize or reconstruct post hoc an event or an act “as if” The Essentials of Vaihinger’s “as if” it was a priori part of the person’s initial goals and beliefs. Philosophy As we elaborate later, the “as if” heuristic, despite being a fiction, is nevertheless useful. Indeed, regarding rational- Vaihinger’s starting point fits well with current views of ization, Cushman notes that “this is a useful fiction: Fiction, perception and cognition, namely, that human comprehen- because it imputes reason to non-rational psychological sion of the world does not entail an exact portrayal of real- processes; Useful, because it can improve subsequent rea- ity. A cognitive representation that maps one-to-one with soning.” As another example, the description of complex the outside world is an impossible task given the cognitive mental phenomena in a personified manner (e.g., “the brain system’s limitations. To make the world more accessible decides . ,” or “emotions make us act . ”), while false and make sense of it, the internal representation needs to be in the sense that they do not describe what is actually occur- simplified. The goal of cognition or thought is “to provide ring in terms of mental processes, acting “as if” they do may us with an instrument for finding our way more easily in convey useful information for the purpose