Review of Toward a Contemporary Psychology of Intuition: A Historical, Theoretical, and Empirical Enquiry.

Reviews the book, Toward a Contemporary Psychology of Intuition: A Historical, Theoretical, and Empirical Enquiry by Malcolm R. Westcott (1968). The dust jacket of this volume tells us that, "This is the first book by a psychologist devoted to a detailed study of intuition." If true, and I have not been able to find an exception to the statement as yet, then two points should be made. First, Westcott is to be admired for tackling a subject which other psychologists have apparently found difficult, and his work must be allowed some of the weaknesses which a "first" volume in any field faces. Second, it is a sad commentary on either the positivist-behavorist influence on psychology or on the ingenuity of psychologists, or both, that an experience as phenomenologically apparent as intuition had to wait so long for an intensive scientific treatment by a psychologist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)