Gut Instinct

Published on Sunday, August 27, 2006 by the Toronto Star

A Hunch About Gut Instincts

by David G. Myers

Say this much for President George Bush: He is not deaf to the inner whispers of his intuition. "I know there's no evidence that shows the death penalty has a deterrent effect," he reportedly said as Texas governor, "but I just feel in my gut it must be true." Six years and two wars into his presidency, Bush still relies on his gut instincts. His recent fly-in to Baghdad was, he explained to U.S. troops, "to look Prime Minister (Nouri) Maliki in the eyes — to determine whether or not he is as dedicated to a free Iraq as you are." The president's snap assessment? "I believe he is." He told Larry King in an interview last month: "If you make decisions based upon what you believe in your heart of hearts, you stay resolved." In flying by the seat of his pants, Bush has much company. "Buried deep within each and every one of us, there is an instinctive, heartfelt awareness that provides — if we allow it to — the most reliable guide," offered Prince Charles, whose decisions also have been relentlessly second-guessed for much of his adult life. For those disposed to follow their inner guide, today's pop psychology offers books on "intuitive healing," "intuitive learning," "intuitive managing," "intuitive trading" and much more. So, when hiring and firing, fearing and risking, investing and gambling, should we follow Bush's example and tune down that analytical, linear, left-brained mind? Should we stop obsessing over logic and data and trust the force within? Today's psychological science documents a vast intuitive mind. More than we realize, our thinking, memory and attitudes operate on two levels — conscious and unconscious — with the larger part operating automatically. We know more than we know we know. Studies show that as we gain expertise, even reasoned judgments can become automatic. Rather than wend their way through a decision tree, experienced car mechanics and physicians will often, after a quick listen and look, diagnose problems. Chess masters intuitively know the right move.