Concept · Cognitive Bias: Decision-making and judgment biases
Recognition heuristic
Origin: Goldstein & Gigerenzer, 2002
Biological Parallel
For a chimpanzee, familiar fruit trees signal reliable calories; novel vegetation signals unknown toxins. Recognition equals prior survival—you're alive, so past choices worked. Norway rats exhibit food neophobia, preferring familiar foods observed in others' diets. Familiarity is ancestral validation. The brand you recognize feels safer because in ancestral environments, the familiar berry patch didn't kill anyone yesterday.