Anxious thoughts make confident predictions. I will freeze. They will notice. I won’t cope. A behavioral experiment is a way to check one of those predictions against real life instead of taking the thought’s word for it.
Free. No account. What you write stays on your device.
- 1The belief
If I speak without rehearsing, people will get bored and stop talking to me. Believed 80
- 2The situation
Ask a question in Tuesday’s team meeting without preparing it first.
- 3The prediction
I will stumble over my words, and two or more people will look at each other or smirk. Feels likely 70
- 4Leaving out
Rehearsing the question in my head. Looking down at my notes while I talk.
- 5While doing it
Keep my head up and watch how people respond, instead of listening to my own voice.
- 6What happened
I asked my question. Two people answered it. Nobody laughed or looked at each other. It didn’t happen.Prediction 70 → 10 · Belief 80 → 45
- 7What it tells me
People seem to respond to what I say, not to how nervous I sound. Next, repeat it with more people in the room.
- In your browserThe worksheet and a step ladder builder, with an example for every step. It saves on this device.
- On paperPrintable and fillable PDFs in English and Spanish, with a one-page guide.
- iPhone, iPad, and AndroidReminders, a step ladder that tracks the climb, and a summary for your therapist. Free on the App Store and Google Play.
What it is
Behavioral experiments are one of the core tools of cognitive behavioral therapy. You write down a belief as a prediction you could see or hear coming true, rate how much you believe it, plan a situation that would test it, decide which of your usual precautions to leave out, and then go and look. Afterward you record the facts, re-rate the belief, and write down what the result tells you more generally.
You can do one on paper, in your browser on this site, or in the free app for iPhone, iPad, and Android. All three follow the same seven steps.
The full guide, with what to do when the feared thing happens
When the goal is too big
Sometimes the best test of a fear is too much to attempt right away, like giving a presentation, driving on the highway, or eating alone in a restaurant. A step ladder breaks it into rungs. You list situations from fairly easy up to the goal itself, rate each one for how much distress you expect, and climb one rung at a time, repeating each until it feels solid.
Every rung can also be run as an experiment of its own, with a prediction to check.
For therapists
A behavioral experiment record and a step ladder, as printable and fillable PDFs in English and Spanish, laid out to be filled in during a session and taken home. There are also notes on how the app fits alongside therapy. Its session summary gives you the rating over time, the experiments in order, and the client’s own learning statements.
Questions people ask
Is this therapy?
No. It is a structured worksheet and a set of educational articles, drawn from published cognitive behavioral therapy methods. Reading about a method and filling in a worksheet is not the same as receiving treatment, and nothing here is advice about your situation. Many people use worksheets like this one between sessions with a therapist, and that is the setting they were designed for.
Can I do this on my own?
Many people do, and there is reasonable evidence for self-guided CBT, especially with some support. The article on working alone or with a therapist goes through what the research says and when it is better to get help first. If a belief is about a traumatic memory, a real medical risk, or thoughts of harming yourself, work on it with a professional rather than on your own.
What is the difference between this and exposure?
Traditional exposure asks you to stay in a feared situation until the anxiety fades. A behavioral experiment asks whether the thing you are afraid of is actually true. That is why you rate the prediction rather than the feeling. More on the distinction.
What if the thing I am afraid of happens?
Then you test the second half of the fear. Was it as bad as you expected, how did people actually respond, and how long did it matter? The real cost usually turns out far smaller than the imagined one, and that is often the more useful discovery.
Where does my writing go?
It stays with you. The online worksheet saves in your browser on your own device. The app stores everything on your phone or tablet, and copies it to your own iCloud account or Google Drive only if you turn sync on. Nothing you write is ever sent to us. Privacy policy.
Does it cost anything?
No. The website, the worksheets, the PDFs, and the app are free, with no ads and nothing to buy inside.
Who made this?
Everyday Insight LLC, a small California company that also makes Thought Record, Activity Record, and Values Card Sort. The worksheet follows the structure described by Bennett-Levy and colleagues (2004) and Warnock-Parkes and colleagues (2025), and the research page has the references.
The app
The same worksheet, with a memory
The app for iPhone, iPad, and Android walks you through each step with guidance and worked examples, keeps every belief and its experiments together, and can remind you when an experiment is due. There is a screen for while the experiment is happening, a step ladder that suggests when to move up, and a session summary for your therapist.
There are no accounts, ads, or analytics, and everything stays on your device unless you turn on sync with iCloud or Google Drive. In English and Spanish.
