Intuition - having a 'gut feeling' about a certain decision, but not actually knowing why.
Some people swear by their intuition, others say that it's a total myth - but what's really the cause for these decisions we make without logical analysis?
Our brain is processing information in 2 different ways - slow and fast thinking.
For example: when trying to figure out a mathematical problem, we need slow thinking to analyze the task and think of a way to solve it. This process is controlled by the left half of our brain and is very analytical and makes conscious decisions.
But fast thinking is something we do when we see someone else's expression, or look at a picture: we can immediately analyze the situation and know how the other person is feeling.
This is an immediate response by our brain - and is linked to intuition. It's an instinctual and fast decision, and often has some subconscious aspects to it as well, and is controlled by the right side of our brain,.
Let's look at an example:
A japanese study tested their subjects by having them solve the board game "Shogi" within one second. (The subjects were very familiar with the game).
Of course, one second is not enough time to actually think about the decision and analyze the situation!
So during that one second, the scientists monitored their brains:
Instead of the part of the brain that deals with conscious thought, the subject's basal ganglia was being activated - an area of our brain that's linked to automatic behaviour and habits.
So instead of trying to solve the game logically, the subjects relied on their experience in the game and on their intuition, and just did whatever move felt right to them.
Now the question whether or not you should trust your intuition depends on the decision -
When we're facing a big decision like buying a car, we often tend to write pro and cons lists and analyze the situation logically.
Which car offers the most quality? Which uses the least gas? And is it worth the price?
Surprisingly, tests have shown that intuitive decisions about something big were often better than trying to analyze everything.
People that have thought about which car to buy for a very long time were only happy with their choice 25% of the time later on.
But from the people that made the decision intuitively, 60% were happy with their decision in the long run.
Instead, when making small choices like shopping for groceries, researchers suggest that it's better to follow the logical approach and stick to your researched plan.
A very interesting study has also shown that sometimes, our unconscious mind understands something before our conscious does - which creates the feeling of following a mere intuition or gut feeling for us.
Tests subjects were presented with 4 decks of cards - A, B, C and D. Their task was to take the cards from the decks and reveal them.
What they didn't know is that decks A&B contained more negative cards, while C and D had positive ones.
After revealing 10 cards, the participants had no clue that there was a system behind the decks and the positive and negative cards.
When they had chosen 50 cards, they'd suspected some kind of pattern, but couldn't figure it out quite yet.
Only after 80 cards, they had found out by themselves that decks A & B contained negative cards, while C and D contained positive ones.
And now the interesting part:
During the study, the subject's skin conductance levels were being measured.
After only 10 cards, those levels were rising whenever the subjects was reaching towards decks A & B, and the sweat glands were opening ever so slightly.
The skin was already giving off signals about the right and wrong choices before the conscious mind had understood the pattern.
Well, the skin obviously didn't know which deck contained which cards - but the unconscious parts of the subject's brains had already realized the pattern long before their conscious mind could realize it.
Take a look at this video, which explains the studies I have mentioned again in great detail:
While Intuition is still being researched, it's safe to say that our unconscious mind is often faster at understanding a situation, which makes us think we have a 'gut feeling' about something being right or wrong.
Of course it's not always the right decision to rely on your instincts, but sometimes, it can help guide you in the right direction and you may be happier with your final decision in the end.
Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, Sources: 1, 2
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