Conclusions
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1.
An intuitive function exists in the human mind.
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2.
Under proper conditions, this function can be studied empirically.
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3.
The intuitive function is part of a series of perceptive processes which work above and below the level of consciousness in an apparently integrated fashion, with shifting emphasis according to special conditions.
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4.
The clinical intuitions studied were found in most cases to be based at least partly on preconscious, sensory observation of the subject.
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5.
What is intuited is different from what the “intuiter” verbalizes as his intuition.
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6.
The dynamics of the eyes and the periocular muscles express reality attitudes. The dynamics of the lower facial and neck muscles are more indicative of instinctual vicissitudes.
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7.
Intuitive faculties may be more important than is often admitted in influencing judgments about reality in everyday life.
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8.
The intuitive function is useful and worth cultivating.
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Based on a paper read before the annual joint meeting of the San Francisco and Los Angeles Psychoanalytic Societies on October 18, 1947.
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Berne, E. The nature of intuition. Psych Quar 23, 203–226 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01563116
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01563116