We describe a prediction method called “Attractivity
Weighting” (AW). In the case of cue-based paired
comparison tasks, AW predicts a weighted average of the cue
values of the most successful cues. In many situations, AW’s
prediction is based on the cue value of the most successful
cue, resulting in behavior similar to Take-the-Best (TTB).
Unlike TTB, AW has a desirable characteristic called “access
optimality”: Its long-run success is guaranteed to be at least as
great as the most successful cue. While access optimality is a
desirable characteristic, concerns may be raised about the
short-term performance of AW. To evaluate such concerns,
we here present a study of AW’s short-term performance. The
results suggest that there is little reason to worry about the
short-run performance of AW. Our study also shows that, in
random sequences of paired comparison tasks, the behavior of
AW and TTB is nearly indiscernible.