Question your own objectivity explicitly
Ask yourself what forces might be shaping your perception before assuming you see things clearly.
Key takeaways
- What it is: Ask yourself what forces might be shaping your perception before assuming you see things clearly.
- Why it works: Naive realism is maintained partly by a blind spot: we apply bias-detection to others but not to ourselves. Research on bias blind spot shows that the more sophisticated someone’s knowledge of cognitive biases, the more strongly they often rate themselves as immune — because that knowledge is applied outward. Explicitly directing the bias-detection inward temporarily disrupts this.
- Evidence: Backed by observational / correlational evidence.
- Avoid: Checking for self-bias only after the judgment is already firm — at that stage, the review tends to be cursory and confirms the original view.
Why it works
Naive realism is maintained partly by a blind spot: we apply bias-detection to others but not to ourselves. Research on bias blind spot shows that the more sophisticated someone’s knowledge of cognitive biases, the more strongly they often rate themselves as immune — because that knowledge is applied outward. Explicitly directing the bias-detection inward temporarily disrupts this.
How to do it
- 1Before forming a final judgment, ask: "What stake do I have in this being true? What would I prefer to find?"
- 2List one or two experiences or identities that could skew your reading of this situation.
- 3Rate your confidence at 80% rather than 100% — the remaining uncertainty keeps you epistemically open.
What the evidence says
ObservationalPronin et al. documented the "bias blind spot": people rate themselves as less susceptible than others to the same biases they can readily describe. Greater knowledge of biases did not reliably reduce self-reported susceptibility.
- — Pronin, Lin & Ross (2002), "The Bias Blind Spot: Perceptions of Bias in Self versus Others," Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Common mistake
Checking for self-bias only after the judgment is already firm — at that stage, the review tends to be cursory and confirms the original view.
IX Coach surfaces the self-interest questions early in a decision or conflict conversation, before conclusions harden, so the inquiry is genuine rather than performative.
Practice this with IX Coach →