My google-fu is failing me. There is a cognitive bias, which I believe is the “[GERMAN LAST NAME] effect” wherein when one sees one solution, one’s brain shuts down and doesn’t see even better solutions. So playing chess - you might see an adequate move, but as soon as you come up with that, you no longer are able to see a more optimal move. Can someone please remind me of the name?
Sorry, don’t know the word you seek. But it seems to me this is more about laziness – ahem, conserving time and energy – than a cognitive bias.
Found it! Einstellung effect. So I was right about the German, wrong about it being a last name.
JKellyMap, it’s definitely more than laziness! This here for instance demonstrated that even when chess players were told to keep looking for better solutions, their eye movements kept going back to the solution that was obvious!
Interesting, thank you. Makes sense – “the tendency to maintain a specific behavior until it fails to work.” Good enough is good enough.