Intuition vs. Instinct — What's the Difference?

Based on subconscious cues.

Innate biological responses.

Subject to biases.

Uniform across individuals.

Refines with experience.

Not learned through experience.

Influenced by past experiences.

Not influenced by emotions.

Used in decision-making.

Drives survival behaviors.

Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning. Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledge; unconscious cognition; inner sensing; inner insight to unconscious pattern-recognition; and the ability to understand something instinctively, without any need for conscious reasoning.The word intuition comes from the Latin verb intueri translated as "consider" or from the late middle English word intuit, "to contemplate".

Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing both innate (inborn) and learned elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behavior is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a corresponding clearly defined stimulus.

The ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning

An inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to specific environmental stimuli

The faculty of knowing or understanding something without reasoning or proof.

A powerful motivation or impulse.

An impression or insight gained by the use of this faculty

An innate capability or aptitude

Immediate cognition without the use of conscious rational processes.

Deeply filled or imbued

A perceptive insight gained by the use of this faculty.

(Obsolete) Impelled from within.

A looking after; a regard to.

A natural or inherent impulse or behaviour.

Direct apprehension or cognition; immediate knowledge, as in perception or consciousness; - distinguished from "mediate" knowledge, as in reasoning; as, the mind knows by intuition that black is not white, that a circle is not a square, that three are more than two, etc.; quick or ready insight or apprehension.

An intuitive reaction not based on rational conscious thought.

Any object or truth discerned by intuition.

(archaic) Imbued, charged (with something).

Any quick insight, recognized immediately without a reasoning process; a belief arrived at unconsciously; - often it is based on extensive experience of a subject.

Urged or stimulated from within; naturally moved or impelled; imbued; animated; alive; quick; as, birds instinct with life.

The ability to have insight into a matter without conscious thought; as, his chemical intuition allowed him to predict compound conformations without any conscious calculation; a mother's intuition often tells her what is best for her child.

Natural inward impulse; unconscious, involuntary, or unreasoning prompting to any mode of action, whether bodily, or mental, without a distinct apprehension of the end or object to be accomplished.

Instinctive knowing (without the use of rational processes)

Specif., the natural, unreasoning, impulse by which an animal is guided to the performance of any action, without thought of improvement in the method.

An impression that something might be the case;

A natural aptitude or knack; a predilection; as, an instinct for order; to be modest by instinct.

To impress, as an animating power, or instinct.

Inborn pattern of behavior often responsive to specific stimuli;

(followed by `with')deeply filled or permeated;

Yes, basic instincts, such as survival instincts, are generally the same across all humans.

The main difference is that intuition is a cognitive process influenced by experience and subconscious observations, while instinct is an innate, automatic response.

Instincts are hardwired and do not change through learning; however, people can learn to control their responses to instinctual impulses.

Yes, intuition can sometimes be wrong, especially if it is influenced by biases or incomplete information.

Yes, intuition can be improved by gaining more experience, reflecting on past decisions, and being open to subconscious cues.

Intuition works by subconsciously processing information and past experiences to make quick decisions without explicit reasoning.

Yes, the fight-or-flight response is a classic example of an instinctual reaction to perceived threats.

Animals primarily operate on instincts, but some studies suggest that certain animals might display behaviors that could be considered intuitive.

Intuition can be a sudden feeling, but it can also be a slow realization that emerges from subconscious processing of information.

Intuition and instinct can both influence decision-making and behavior, often in subtle and complex ways, and can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from one another.