1999
Psychology of Intelligence Analysis
United States. Central Intelligence Agency
Heuer, Richards J.
This volume pulls together and republishes, with some editing, updating, and additions, articles written during 1978-86 for internal use within the CIA Directorate of Intelligence. Four of the articles also appeared in the Intelligence Community journal "Studies in Intelligence" during that time frame. The information is relatively timeless and still relevant to the never-ending quest for better analysis. The message that comes through in the author's presentation is that information and expertise are a necessary but not sufficient means of making intelligence analysis the special product that it needs to be. A comparable effort has to be devoted to the science of analysis. This effort has to start with a clear understanding of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of the primary analytic mechanism--the human mind--and the way it processes information. Given the centrality of analytic science for the intelligence mission, a key question that this book poses is: Compared with other areas of our business, have we committed a commensurate effort to the study of analytic science as a professional requirement? How do the effort and resource commitments in this area compare to, for example, the effort and commitment to the development of analysts' writing skills?
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