Cognitive biases and heuristics in human cognition

Hidden traps in the decision-making process have been long recognized in both the behavioral economics and the airline industry. Despite this, we spend very little if any time analyzing our decision-making processes in pediatric cardiology. Systems 1 and 2 thought processes differentiate between rapid, emotional thoughts and slow, deliberate, rational thoughts. For fairly clear-cut medical decisions, in-depth analysis may not be needed, but in our field of pediatric cardiology, it is not uncommon for challenging cases and occasionally even so-called simple cases to generate significant debate and uncertainty as to the best decision. Although morbidity and mortality meetings frequently highlight poor outcomes for our patients, they often neglect to critically analyze the process of thought which underlined those decisions taken. This chapter reviews commonly acknowledged traps in decision making to ascertain whether these heuristics translate to decision making in the pediatric cardiology environment and what solutions we can call upon to aid in improving clinical decision making.