intuitives

Intuitives is a term used to describe people who rely on intuition as a primary source of knowledge, either as a cognitive style, in personality theory, or as a self-identified group with claimed extrasensory abilities. In cognitive science, intuition refers to fast, automatic judgments that arise without conscious reasoning; intuitives are individuals who tend to rely on such processing when making judgments or decisions, often integrating patterns and prior experiences rather than analyzing steps explicitly. Critics note that intuitive judgments can be prone to biases and errors, even for experienced individuals.

In personality typology, especially in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, "Intuition" (the N preference) describes a tendency to focus on possibilities, abstract concepts, and future implications rather than on concrete facts and present realities. Intuitives are often contrasted with Sensing types; they are described as imaginative, insightful, and capable of synthesizing information. However, the MBTI framework is debated in psychometrics, with questions about validity and reliability across populations.

In education and professional settings, the term may describe learning or decision styles that emphasize patterns, underlying meanings, and long-term implications over memorization of details. Some workplaces value intuitive problem solving and creative thinking, while others emphasize data-driven analysis or procedural rigor.

In spiritual or paranormal contexts, "intuitives" may refer to individuals who claim heightened non-ordinary perception—such as reading emotions, sensing energies, or predicting outcomes. These claims are contested in mainstream science and are treated with skepticism in empirical research.

Overall, "intuitives" denotes a broad set of concepts centered on the role of intuition in understanding and acting in the world, spanning psychology, personality theory, education, and, in some cases, claim-based paranormal discourse.