Which term refers to mental shortcuts that help people solve problems quickly and efficiently?

• A. Eye Gaze
• B. Heuristics
• C. Complex Motor Skills
• D. Critical Incident Amnesia

Answer: (B)

Mental shortcuts that let you solve problems quickly and efficiently are heuristics. These are quick, experience-based rules of thumb that help you make fast judgments with minimal information, which is especially useful in high-pressure or uncertain situations. They streamline decision-making by relying on patterns you’ve learned, allowing rapid action when time is short. However, because they’re based on prior experiences, they can lead to biases or errors if the current situation differs from what you’ve encountered before, so good practice involves using heuristics alongside careful assessment and situational awareness. The other terms describe things unrelated to mental shortcuts: eye gaze is about where someone looks, complex motor skills are physical abilities, and critical incident amnesia refers to memory gaps after a traumatic event.