One in five Americans think they have psychic abilities

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One in five Americans believe they’re basically psychic (19%), according to new research.

A survey of 2,000 adults explored how they employ their intuition in their daily lives, finding that another 71% rely on their intuition at least sometimes — only 11% don’t believe in it.

Over the past year, respondents have had an average of 18 psychic moments.

Across generations, Gen Z is the likeliest to say that they’re psychic (30%), having the most of these instances (two moments per month) — doubling the frequency that baby boomers experienced (one moment per month).

Some of the top areas that intuition reigns strongest are just “knowing” — whether it’s when something is “off” without explanation (33%), sensing dishonesty (28%) and feeling just when to walk away from something (26%).

Where finances are concerned, Gen Z and baby boomers are equally accurate in their financial intuition (14% each). And when it comes to meeting their perfect match, Gen Z and millennials have a sixth sense about dating (14% each).

Adam Dickinson, a former FBI intelligence analyst and current logic-to-intuition integration advisor, provided insight into the pull of intuition.

“Intuition is a second intelligence channel: it arrives quickly, feels light and steady and quietly points you toward what fits,” said Dickinson. “From a mental standpoint, intuition is your body compressing years of experience and pattern recognition into a clear signal you can feel right now.”

Respondents have experienced different phenomena over the past year based on feelings that panned out to be true, most commonly having a bad feeling about something beforehand or a gut feeling that something was going to happen (25% each).

Similarly, 24% thought of someone before they texted, had a notion that someone was untrustworthy (22%) or knew what someone was going to say before they said it (19%).

(Photo by Tachina Lee vía Unsplash)

Gen X was the likeliest to be able to predict outcomes (21%), while millennials have the strongest dream-tuition (21%). Gen Z has had the most “lucky” moments based on a feeling (15%).

But how many of these experiences are just that — a “lucky feeling?” Thirty-five percent of all respondents admit they’re not confident that they know the difference between a genuine gut feeling and anxiety.

Dickinson also weighed in on how to differentiate between intuition and anxiety.

“Anxiety, by contrast, is heavy, chaotic mental noise that pulls you into endless ‘what if’ futures instead of the present moment,” said Dickinson. “Anxiety is the mind trying to simulate every possible outcome to feel safe, which is why it feels constricting, looping and never quite peaceful.

“One simple test I share is this: when you slow down and get neutral, does the inner voice feel caring, curious and quietly firm? If so, that’s intuition. Or, does it feel urgent, critical and repetitive? That urgent, demanding tone is usually anxiety trying to control uncertainty, not your deeper intelligence speaking.

“Practices like noticing physical sensations, giving yourself a bit of time to pause and improving self-awareness are exactly how you build an internal standard operating procedure for your inner signals so you can tell, ‘this is my deeper intelligence’ versus ‘this is my nervous system in overdrive.’”

Certain influences have allowed respondents to rely on their intuition more, feeling supported by the rise of therapy and mental health care (44%) and access to expert advice (40%).

On the other hand, factors that create distance like social media (46%) and working remotely (40%) have made people less in touch with their intuition.

More respondents agree, too, that heavier reliance on features that pull away from their own judgment like tech (47%) and the rise of AI (43%) have contributed negatively to trust in intuition.

Interestingly, the same percentage of respondents said that current events and the news over the recent years have been both an awakening and a source of uncertainty, with the same percentage feeling more and less touch with their intuition (36% each).

“I actually see the rise in therapy and expert mental health support as training people to read their inner data better, even as the news cycle floods them with undesired information,” said Dickinson. “Current events can leave the world feeling unrecognizable and erode trust, even in yourself, but when you build a deeper relationship with your own inner signals, you can integrate what your body is telling you with what your rational mind knows. That’s how you make decisions from a higher‑integrity place and keep healthier boundaries as you move forward, even in uncertain times.”

Research methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans who have access to the internet; the survey was administered and conducted online by Talker Research between March 5 and March 8, 2026. A link to the questionnaire can be found here.

To view the complete methodology as part of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, please visit the Talker Research Process and Methodology page.