Psychology of Intelligence Analysis

by Federal Bureau of Investigation, Richards J. Heuer Jr. · 1999

Psychology of Intelligence Analysis examines how cognitive psychology influences the work of intelligence analysts. Drawing on research from the 1970s and 1980s, the book explains how mental shortcuts and cognitive biases can lead to faulty judgments when dealing with incomplete or ambiguous information. It offers tools such as the Analysis of Competing Hypotheses and structured analytic techniques to help analysts recognize and mitigate these biases, improving the quality of intelligence assessments.