What is the goal of the 'works best' heuristic?

The 'works best' heuristic is focused on leveraging past experiences to inform future decisions, making the belief that a product will perform well based on prior usage a central tenet of this approach. When consumers encounter ambiguity or uncertainty in their choices, they often resort to the strategies that have yielded positive results before. Thus, they will choose the product they believe has the highest chance of success according to their own experiences. This approach helps consumers make quicker decisions without extensive research, as it simplifies the process by relying on what has been effective in the past.

In contrast, other options emphasize different decision-making processes, such as peer influence, novelty-seeking in technology, or reliance on marketing strategies, none of which specifically focus on the concept of choosing based on prior performance as the 'works best' heuristic does.