Simple heuristics in sports

Abstract

How do people make decisions under conditions of limited knowledge, time, and cognitive capacity in real-life situations such as sports? In this review I will introduce the concept of simple heuristics – rules of thumb that are based on the building blocks of decision making: how to search for information, stop information search, and decide quickly and accurately – and how they can help us understand the decisions made by athletes, coaches, referees, managers, and fans in tasks involving high uncertainty, such as predicting tournament outcomes, allocating balls to teammates, or determining when to buy or sell a talented player. I will present an ‘adaptive toolbox’ of such heuristics, that is, a collection of strategies that work effectively in specific environments. Additional building blocks will be added to explain motor behavior itself, which is central to many sport applications. Finally, principles for studying the use of simple heuristics by people involved in sports will be presented to guide future applications.

Keywords:

• decision making
• simple heuristic
• sport