In multiple-cue probabilistic inference, people choose between
alternatives based on several cues, each of which is differentially
associated with an alternative’s overall value. Various strategies
have been proposed for probabilistic inference. These include
heuristics, simple strategies that ignore part of the available
information to make decisions more quickly and with less effort.
Heuristic models seek to explain the sequence of cognitive events
that occur as people make decisions. Validating these models
involves evaluating their predictions concerning both outcomes
and process measures. In this study, we gathered verbal protocols
from participants as they performed multiple-cue probabilistic
inference. We find converging evidence across decisions, search
behavior, and verbal reports that many participants use a
simplifying heuristic, take-the-best. These results provide novel
evidence for take-the-best as a process model of human decision
behavior in multiple-cue probabilistic inference.