When Should Consumers and Managers Trust Their Intuition?

Ambady, Krabbenhoft, Hogan, and Rosenthal (2006) demonstrated that “thin slices” or very brief observations of behavior are not only sufficient for drawing accurate automatic trait inferences, they actually improve accuracy, relative to inferences based on larger amounts of information. Too much information, too much knowledge, or too much analysis can reduce the accuracy of intuitive judgment. Who benefits most and what types of judgments benefit most from thin-slice data? When should people trust their intuition? The answers to these questions depend on informational variables, such as feedback quality and the consequences of inferential errors (Hogarth, 2001). Evidence is reviewed suggesting that consumers and managers should trust their intuition only when high quality (frequent, prompt, and diagnostic) feedback is available and when inferential errors are consequential and therefore easy to detect.