Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

An online questionnaire attempted to reveal the heuristics and biases used when participants reflected on their trust ina healthcare system. Participants answered quantitative questions related to six different heuristics and biases, whichrevealed their propensity for exhibiting each heuristic, before rating healthcare systems on seven trust-related metrics: re-source allocation; access to treatment; honesty, integrity and intention; competence; quality; safety; and equality. Multipleregressions tested whether the predictive power of heuristics and biases on trust ratings was significantly moderated bythe relative proportion of patients receiving service in the public and private sector. Results revealed that heuristics andbiases significantly impacted thought processes when arriving at assessments of participants willingness to trust. As trustin major institutions declines, this presents the scientific and medical communities with relevant data to potentially alterpractices and communication approaches in a way that fosters trust.