A Typology of Intuition for Older Adults' Interaction with Digital Interfaces: A Systematic Review and Reflexive Thematic Analysis

Intuition is widely invoked in design and human–computer interaction (HCI) as a desirable quality of interfaces, yet it remains conceptually fragmented and is rarely specified for older adults, whose agerelated changes make intuitive use both especially valuable and especially fragile. This study asks how intuition should be defined for older adults and which forms of intuition are most relevant to mitigating their interaction barriers. A systematic literature review was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines across Web of Science, PubMed, and the ACM Digital Library; eleven studies met the eligibility criteria and were synthesized through reflexive thematic analysis in MAXQDA 2024, with methodological quality appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). The analysis produced five themes — the cognitive–experiential foundation of intuition, recognition and familiarity as interface mechanisms, contextual and cultural shaping, functional benefits, and age-related constraints — from which a four-part typology was derived: experiential, recognition-based, embodied, and contextual intuition. A theoretical definition of intuition for older adults is proposed, and experiential and recognition-based intuition appeared to be the most prominent types across the reviewed studies, given the relative preservation of crystallized knowledge in later life. Mapping the typology onto twenty previously identified interaction barriers indicates that intuition-oriented design has plausible leverage over the cognitive and design–interaction barriers that dominate older adults’ difficulties, while sensory, trust, and resource barriers require complementary measures. The typology offers designers a structured and theoretically informed resource for ageing-centered interface design