Questions get replaced. In the latter half of the 20th century, when people face a question, they may think they are addressing it directly, but are actually answering a different one. This is the relationship between the target and the heuristic. The target is the question that should be answered, while the heuristic is the easier-to-answer question that has been unconsciously substituted. This substitution is not intentional; it occurs naturally within the flow of thought.

Questions get replaced. In the latter half of the 20th century, when people face a question, they may think they are addressing it directly, but are actually answering a different one. This is the relationship between the target and the heuristic. The target is the question that should be answered, while the heuristic is the easier-to-answer question that has been unconsciously substituted. This substitution is not intentional; it occurs naturally within the flow of thought.

For example, the complex question "Is this policy beneficial for the future?" is transformed into the emotional question "Does this policy feel favorable?" Evaluations involving numbers or probabilities are replaced by intuitive judgments like likes, dislikes, or impressions, yielding an immediate answer. However, this answer quietly deviates from what the original question sought. This mechanism relates to how human thought has evolved to prioritize efficiency. Analyzing complex questions one by one takes time and effort. Therefore, simpler criteria like similarity, mood, or ease of recall are substituted. These are heuristics, which often work effectively in daily life but can also cause systematic biases. In the latter half of the 20th century, cognitive psychology and behavioral economics experimentally revealed this substitution of questions. People often answer a different question without realizing it, rationalizing their response afterward. Daniel Kahneman's book Thin
king, Fast and Slow demonstrates how many judgment biases arise from this substitution of targets and heuristics. Online, numerous examples illustrate the impact of phrasing in happiness surveys and opinion polls, as well as framing effects in risk perception and medical decision-making. The fact that simply changing how questions are phrased or their order can significantly shift people's judgments is becoming widely recognized not only in research but also in practical settings. Questions do not always appear in their original form. People are not answering the question directly in front of them, but rather a different question they have mentally rephrased. Becoming aware of this quiet substitution is one of the few clues to avoid being swept away by the speed of judgment.