Scientists have found out who it is harmful to think long and hard about decisions

This conclusion was reached by researchers in the field of cognitive science, having studied how self-confidence is influenced by anxiety and gender, writes The Conversation.

Many people have experienced a situation where, after a decision is made, confidence is quickly replaced by doubt: saying something in a meeting and immediately starting to replay the words in your head, or leaving a party in a good mood and then worrying about whether you've behaved awkwardly. For a large proportion of people, reflecting on their own actions does not calm them down, but rather erodes their confidence.

Self-confidence affects many different aspects of life, from the willingness to express ideas to persistence in learning and the ability to stick to choices. However, it develops differently in different people.

The role of anxiety and gender

Research shows that people with high anxiety are more likely to feel less confident in their decisions, even if they are objectively as accurate as others. Anxiety sets off a chain of intrusive thoughts - "what if I'm wrong", "what if I missed something" - that over time erode feelings of confidence.

Women, for their part, also rate their confidence lower than men on average, despite comparable task performance. Researchers attribute this to social and cultural factors: expectations, stereotypes, and the type of feedback that can cause women to underestimate their own abilities.

What happens when you think longer

To understand how extra thinking time affects confidence, researchers conducted an experiment with memory and visual distinction tasks. Participants not only completed the tasks, but also rated their confidence in each of their responses. Researchers then tracked how these scores changed over time - and whether the changes were influenced by anxiety and gender.

The results were mixed. People with high anxiety didn't just have lower confidence - the longer they thought about an answer, the less confident they became, even if the answer was correct.

In women, the effect was the opposite. The extra thought allowed them to evaluate their actions more carefully and gradually increased their confidence levels. Over time, this narrowed the usual gap between men and women - in the end, both genders rated their decisions equally highly.

In other words, the same behaviour - reflection - can have the opposite effect depending on what is at the root of a person's uncertainty.

Why it matters

According to scientists, the key difference lies in the type of thinking behaviour. In anxious people, prolonged rumination is more likely to turn into rumination - fixating on possible mistakes and negative scenarios. In women, on the other hand, reflection is more likely to be analytical and help them compare facts and their own results.

This highlights an important finding: confidence depends not on how much we think, but how we think. Weighted analysis can build confidence, whereas endless scrolling through doubt can destroy it.

The study authors note that there is no universal advice like "don't overthink" or "think again." People with high anxiety may benefit from limiting thinking time and relying on concrete facts, while those who tend to underestimate their abilities may benefit from giving themselves time for meaningful analysis.

Ultimately, being conscious of one's own emotional and social habits of thought can help turn rumination from a source of doubt into a tool for self-confidence.