A behavioral experiment, in your browser
The same seven steps as the app, with the guidance beside each one. It saves as you type, in this browser on this device only. Nothing is sent anywhere. When you are done, print it or save it as a PDF.
Saved on this device
If this is your first one
Pick one belief to test. It does not have to be the biggest one. Choose one that comes with strong feelings and gets in the way of something you want.
Fill in steps 1 to 4 before the experiment. Each has a short prompt and an example you can open. Then go and do it, and come back afterward to record what happened. Stick to the facts, the way a camera would have seen it, before you re-rate and write down what it tells you. Everything saves as you type, so you can plan today and finish the review after the experiment.
New to behavioral experiments? Read how one works, step by step. If the real test feels too big for now, build a step ladder first.
Before you begin. This is a worksheet for reflection and planning, not therapy or medical advice, and it cannot tell whether a belief is one you should work on alone. If the belief concerns a traumatic memory, a real medical risk, or thoughts of harming yourself, work on it with a professional instead. You decide whether to carry out any experiment, and you do so at your own risk. If you have a therapist, plan it with them. Terms of use.
1. The belief to test
If I speak without rehearsing, people will get bored and stop talking to me.
I will feel nervous and it will show a little, but people will keep talking to me.
2. Choose the situation
Ask a question in Tuesday’s team meeting without preparing it first.
Tuesday at 10, the weekly meeting
3. Say what you expect to see
If I ask without preparing, I will stumble over my words and two or more people will look at each other or smirk.
Someone laughs or comments on it, or people avoid me afterward.
4. Decide what to leave out
Safety behaviors are the things you do to prevent the feared outcome. They feel helpful, but they stop you from finding out whether the fear is true. Tap the ones you will leave out this time, or add your own.
Keep my head up and watch how people respond, instead of listening to my own voice.
I might not get a chance to speak. If so, I will put my question in the chat instead.
5. Do it, and watch. Drop the safety behaviors, keep your attention outward, and stay until the prediction has actually been tested, even if the urge to leave gets strong. Then come back and fill in the rest.
6. Record what happened
I asked my question. Two people answered it. Nobody laughed or looked at each other. The meeting moved on.
It happened. Was it as bad as you expected? How did people actually react, and how long did it matter? The real cost is often far smaller than the feared one, and that is worth recording too.
7. What it tells you
People seem to respond to what I say, not to how nervous I sound. The feeling of being judged was coming from my own nerves.
I spoke without preparing and people answered normally.
Repeat it with more people in the room. If it still goes fine, ask two questions instead of one.
What changed
Everything on this page is saved in your browser’s local storage on this device, and nowhere else. Clearing your browser data removes it. Saving a PDF after each review is the safest way to keep a record. Want reminders, a ladder, and a history across experiments? The app does that. Read about how experiments work.