As science advances, it is emerging that thinking with your heart and not your head may be more reliable than once thought. Recent developments in neuroscience have concluded that 80% of decisions are made by the intuitive and primal parts of the brain, as opposed to the rational, complex and information-processing parts.

The facts:

1) We have stone-age brains housed in modern skulls. Science has shown that the brain’s hardwiring causes us to behave in a more primitive way than we might think.
It is a common misconception that, as humans, we are highly advanced, matching the complexity of the tools and machines in our modern society. However, we must take into account the fact that our modern world is the summation of ingenious ideas over many centuries, not a single decision from a single person.

The Genome Lag principle states that our everyday lives and the decisions we face are becoming more advanced than our brain anatomy can cope with. Cavemen are 500 generations away from us, whereas most of the technology we use today has been around for 2. Cavemen relied on their gut instinct, fight or flight response to survive. Given that humans are still around today, this mechanism is an effective means for survival. We should not ignore the accuracy and efficiency of this response, and not be afraid to follow it.

2) Conscious thought is like the tip of the iceberg
The emotional and unconscious area of the brain is larger than the rational and conscious part and so the brain processes more emotive than cognitive activity (Baker, 2006). Furthermore, the degree to which signals run from the emotional brain to the rational brain outnumber those running in the opposite direction by a ratio of ten to one (Hawkins and Blakeslee, 2004). Our subconscious can pick up subtle clues from the environment before we consciously and rationally can understand what they mean or what to make of them.

3) Gut instincts happen at great speed before complex thought processes
It has been scientifically proven that the information received by the Amygdala pathway in the brain responsible for raw emotions (anger, happiness, fear..) is simpler to processes than complex information in the neocortex (Adolphs et. al, 1999). Therefore, when trusting these raw emotions, rewards can be reached quickly and effectively, without the need for too much rationale.
In conclusion, your intuitive thinking is a quick and effective mechanism that far predates your rational thinking. The most primitive process in the brain has survived the evolution of 500 generations and the reason for this is it’s survival value. Trusting your instincts could be the most beneficial factor when making decisions in the modern world.

How intuitive are you?
Thompson Dunn uses the Decision Profile to measure the ways in which we make decisions and our attitudes towards them. It looks at attitudes towards risk, luck and decisiveness and provides insight into whether you will rely on the facts or trust your hunches.

Please contact Anna Pulleyn for your opportunity to trial this test free of charge for a limited period at anna.pulleyn@thompsondunn.com

By Marc Jacobson

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