Conceptualizing and Measuring Intuition: a Review of Recent Trends

Discussion surrounding intuition has burgeoned in a variety of arenas in recent years. In popular writings, for example, a number of authors have pointed to the role that intuition may play in organizational and managerial decision making (e.g. Gigerenzer, 2007; Gladwell, 2005; Klein, 2003; Myers, 2002). Concurrently, there has been an outpouring of academic research directed toward understanding intuition, mirroring interest in psychology in automaticity (Bargh and Chartrand, 1999) and dual-process theories (e.g. Epstein, 2002; Kahneman, 2003; Sloman, 1996). Emerging research has centered on (1) what intuition is (e.g. Dane and Pratt, 2007; Hodgkinson, Langan-Fox and SadlerSmith, 2008; Kahneman, 2003; Lieberman, 2000; Sadler-Smith and Shefy, 2007; Shirley and Langan-Fox, 1996; Sinclair, Sadler-Smith and Hodgkinson, 2009); (2) the factors that prompt individuals to trust and use it (e.g. DenesRaj and Epstein, 1994; Epstein, 2002; Hodgkinson, Langan-Fox and SadlerSmith, 2008; Hodgkinson and Sadler-Smith, 2003); and (3) the factors that account for when intuition should be used, especially in terms of when it is as or more effective than analytical decision making (e.g. Dane and Pratt, 2007; Hogarth, 2001; Khatri and Ng, 2000). In addition to growth in these conceptual areas, there has also been a wide range of methods proposed to examine intuition and intuitive processes. Fortunately, this proliferation of ideas has not entirely fragmented the field. As we discuss below, there is emergent agreement on some crucial facets of