I know little about the topic. I heard nothing at all about heuristic thinking in Med School and training.
You are not alone. Most current practicing physicians have had little training in what heuristics are, what they do, and what the consequences of indiscriminate use may be.
How important is it in diagnosis?
Critically important given their association with cognitive biases
What kinds of heuristic thinking are there?
Heuristic decision making dominates most of what we do. In everyday life, probably about 95%. So, all kinds.
Are there different kinds that lead to greater accuracy or greater inaccuracy?
Most of them work well most of the time, but not all of the time.
What kinds are more effective in diagnosis?
They are good for generating ideas and possibilities In diagnosis, so the effective ones are the kinds the decision maker is aware of and can modify, if necessary
Is heuristic accuracy related to SAT scores?
Firstly, SAT scores are related to ability to reason. 'Heuristic accuracy' would presumably depend on the decision maker detecting that an heuristic had been used, has reflected on what it has predicted and if his/her response needs calibrating or not, which would include determining if it is biased or not. Given that cognitive scientists measure rationality (ability to reason effectively) in terms of a decision maker's vulnerability to bias, one would think that well-calibrated (effectively used) heuristics would be related to SAT scores.
Can you unlearn faulty heuristic thinking?
There is strong evidence that decision making that is faulty due to heuristics associated with cognitive bias can be un-learned through training - the area of CBM (cognitive Bias Mitigation) - see attached..
And what is faulty?
Many heuristics are highly effective. Faulty is when the heuristic fails, as shortcuts eventually do.
Are there any people that should not be diagnostic physicians by virtue of their heuristic error thinking?
Given that most of us spend most of the time making heuristic decisions, there wouldn't be many of us left if we disqualified those who use heuristics to make decisions. If one uses heuristics indiscriminately (without metacognitive strategies such as reflection and mindfulness) then we would not be well calibrated decision makers, and probably shouldn't be engaging in the critical activity of diagnosing disease.
there are no birds in my back yard, I assume the bird feeder is empty?
That's a good example of a heuristic that, if uncalibrated, might lead to an erroneous assumption. It might be that a major bird of prey is nearby and your regular patrons are unwilling to take the risk.
Etc. Etc. Etc.
Rob Bell, M.D