Every day we as individuals are faced with crossroads in which we make hundreds of decisions. Sometimes, these decisions are made in a matter of seconds. These split second choices can be credited to our instincts, which according to the dictionary are, “an innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior in animals in response to certain stimuli.” We can all recall times in our lives when we had a “gut feeling” about something or we just knew what the right answer was with no further explanation. The use of instinct can be especially helpful when it comes test time as we can often determine some answers without truly understanding the question. However, many people (myself included) will go back through tests and change some answers that were originally derived from instincts. The question is then posed as to how accurate are the human instincts? Can they truly make the difference when it comes to taking tests? There have been many studies conducted in order to answer those types of questions. I have heard the phrases “go with your gut” and “don’t change your answer” on multiple occasions and can say that this advice rarely has led me astray. However, there are, in fact, conflicting opinions as to whether or not this is a successful method of making choices.

The findings of a study regarding human instincts was published in a Journal called, Nature Neuroscience, and I found an article on Live Science which gave further evidence about the topic.  A study was conducted at Beckman Institute in order to further understand the accuracy of human decision making when it is made in seconds. For this study, individuals were given a two part memory test. For the first part, they were shown a progression of images in which the individuals attempted to memorize without any distraction. However, for the second part, they were shown these similar images but they also listened to number in which they had to decide whether or not he numbers were even or odd. The study later had each person view a series of the same images and they had to select the old images. The results of this study were that people were able to select the image when they had been distracted better than when they paid full attention. According to the study, “they were more accurate when they claimed to be guessing than when they registered familiarity to the image” In other words, this study proved that making split decisions based upon ones gut instinct proved to be more accurate than attempting to reason through. This can be applied to student lives when taking a test. When a student comes upon a question that they are unfamiliar with, this study suggests that it is better to go with their gut answer, rather than try to recall what they might think is correct.

This might raise the question as to what exactly the brain does when it comes to making these split second decisions. Surely the information is somewhere inside your brain if you are able to answer the question correctly in a matter of seconds. During tests of memory, the brain waves during implicit recognition are recognizably different than the brain waves of making conscious memory decisions. Another study suggested that those who have suffered from amnesia problems have a stronger sense of implicit memories. I found another article on Psychology Today which explains that a very large majority of people will sear by their gut instinct. Theses people claim that their gut has never led them wrong and apply this philosophy heavily when it comes to test taking. Although many people agree that their instinct are usually correct, can there be a contradicting audience?

There have also been a number of studies conducted in order to prove that making decisions based upon ones instinct is not accurate. An article by Melissa Dahl in New York Magazine, used examples from a study conducted at Cornell University to exercise this conflicting view point. The study at Cornell provided information that when students go back on their original answers and reason their way through them, they typically change them to the correct answer. This study suggested that taking the time to think through an answer is a much more reasonable approach to answering questions. Another example can be derived from todays class discussion in which we spoke about the dangers that doctors caused to their patients based upon practices that were strictly based upon instinct. The example of bleeding out patients showed a clear depiction of how human instincts can be dangerously wrong and lead to harmful consequences.

When it comes to test day going with your instinct can be a true game of chance. There is evidence supporting both sides of the spectrum regarding whether or not your first instinct is the right answer. My personal outtake from this information is that going with your gut is a strong approach to questions that one cannot remember. However, when finished with a test, it can be beneficial to review test answers and strongly reason ones way through questions that were based upon instinct. However, when it comes to changing your answers it is crucial to be certain that you know your original answer is incorrect. So the next time you are taking a test be sure to always go with you gut! But be sure to go back and review just to be safe.