Relation between Intuition and College Majors

Abstract

In previous research, Fallik and Eliot (1985, 1986) administered Westcott's test of Intuitive Ability (1966), Witkin, et al.'s (1971) Group Embedded Figures, Paivo's (1971) Revised Individual Differences Questionnaire, and aural and visual hemispheric preference measures to 79 male and 121 female undergraduate volunteers. Among the findings, field dependence was consistently related to poorer intuitive performance, no sex-related differences were found on intuition, embedded figures, Paivio's questionnaire, or dominance measures, although amount of intuition explained by cognitive style and dominance differed by hand and sex. Visual-verbal style was not associated with dominance, while the relation of field-dependence/fieId-independence and dominance was inconsistent. Older subjects (36 to 55 yr.) were significantly more verbal in thinking style and significantly more field-dependent and less intuitive. Neither dominance nor visual-verbal style was related consistently to intuition, although complicated associations were indicated by hand and by sex which suggested possible differences in cognitive organization. The purpose of this paper is to report an additional ancillary finding from this research. When an analysis of variance was performed on intuition scores by college major, significant main effects were found (F = 3.46; df = 7/171, p < .01). Mean scores on the intuition measure decreased from best to worst for college majors in physical sciences ( n= 53), behavioral sciences (n = 7), social sciences (n = 25), art (n = 39), education (n = 62), humanities (n = 4), and undecided (n = 7). Scheffi post hoc comparisons yielded significant differences between mean scores for college majors in physical science and education. When the 13 subjects over 35 yr. of age were excluded in a second analysis, the order of decreasing mean scores on inruition becomes physical sciences, behavioral sciences, art, social sciences, education, and undecided. Of note is the fact chat no subject over 35 yr. of age majored in the physical or behavioral sciences. These findings are of interest because they run counter to popular expectations. An explanation for these findings may be in the comparatively small number of subjects in some college majors. Or it may be that Westcott's intuition measure is so logically sequential as to be an inadequate measure of intuition. Only further research can clarify these findings.