So I was reading this book " The Scout Mindset " by Julia Galef, This book is about how to make better judgment and see things as they are and not as we want them to be!
Disclaimer- These tests are from the book "The Scout Mindset" I am just expressing it on my behalf! I am sharing it because I think it's the best part of the book & it helped me make a better judgment.
The Double Standard Test: -
This test is on perspective " Am I judging other people's behavior by a standard I wouldn't apply to myself "
Consider a Joe who is in an academy with a huge difference in gender ratio. There were 24 girls and 800 boys because girls had so much choice they tend to go for guys who were really attractive, athletic or charming.
Joe being an average-looking guy he did not get any girl's attention. This made him think that all girls were just *****
So one day Joe asked himself
" If the situation was reversed wouldn't I be doing the same thing ?"
he thought if he had so many options he too would have gone for the best of the best .
This is a example of the the double standard test - judging someone's behavior which you wouldn't apply to yourself .
The Outsider Test:-
This test is from an external perspective. Imagine someone else in your shoes -what do you expect them to do in your situation?
This test removes emotional barriers and influences like - is it my fault am i in this situation ? or -people are going to judge me harshly if I change my mind?
So when taking a tough decision you should ask yourself
" what a person (XYZ) would do if he/she is in my situation?
The Conformity Test:-
To check how much of my opinion is actually mine!
If you find yourself agreeing with someone else's viewpoint do a conformity test
"Imagine this person no longer hold his view, would you still hold it ?"
Example - you idolized someone ( a good footballer) and in an interview, he says " this XYZ this is the best coffee"
and being a fan you give it a try and find yourself thinking that coffee is the best and that feels like your own opinion but to check you can do a conformity test. Imagine that a footballer suddenly says "I don't drink coffee that much i have just heard it " would you still think that coffee is the best.
The Selective Skeptic Test:-
Suppose You are a team leader of a basketball team and someone criticizes a decision you made and your reaction is " they don't know what are they talking about or it easier said than done or they don't have the relevant information"
In Selective Skeptic test :
Imagine that same person has praised your decision would you still think that only insiders have enough information to make a valid point?
The Status Quo Bias Test:-
As the name suggests " status quo ", if the status of your situation is different would you still chose it ?
for example
joe living with his college friend in his hometown and he got along well ,one day he gets his dream job in another city and he needs to decide weather to take it or let it go.After all he already has a good life with his college friend .was it really worth giving up for a better job ?
So he tried experiment : suppose i was already living away from my hometown with this job.Would I be tempted to quit and move home to be closer to my college friend?
" No,I wouldn't "he relaized .
The status quo bias experiment works on policy choices as well as in personal life as well. Whenever you reject/accept some change to society that's an opertunity to test yourself for status quo bias.
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