Intelligence
Surprising Ways You Can Turn Thoughts Into Action
When and why thoughts affect judgment and action.
Posted April 27, 2022 Reviewed by Gary Drevitch
Key points
- We have over 6,000 thoughts a day, many of which are ignored, partly because we consider them “invalid.”
- Self-validation theory suggests thoughts can affect our judgments and behavior when their perceived validity is increased.
- The perceived validity of a belief may be influenced by factors unrelated to its content—factors such as one’s posture, mood, or self-esteem.
We think about a variety of things every day. Here is a random selection (courtesy of a friend):
- Chocolate ice cream tastes fantastic.
- The new student is so attractive.
- I want to learn yoga.
- I should get a COVID-19 booster shot.
Only a few of our thoughts become intentions and are eventually acted on. In the above case, for instance, my friend did not purchase ice cream, schedule a booster shot, sign up for a yoga class, or ask the attractive classmate out on a date. This is not surprising, given that we have "over 6,000 daily thoughts,” on average, which means many are ignored.
According to self-validation theory, when the perceived validity of a thought increases, so does the likelihood of it driving intentions and resulting in action. To discuss the self-validation theory in greater depth, I refer to a paper by Briñol and Petty, published in the March issue of Psychological Review, which presents this theory as a series of six prepositions.
Self-validation theory as six prepositions
Postulate 1: “Thoughts become more consequential for judgment and action as their perceived validity emerging from a wide range of variables, including incidental factors, is increased.”
These incidental factors include those related to the thought content but also situational factors and individual differences (e.g., posture, happiness, self-esteem, self-confidence).
Postulate 2: “There are two types of validation (affective and cognitive) and thus the same variable can lead to more or less thought use depending on which type of validation occurs.”
Cognitive validation takes place when people are certain that their beliefs are correct, such as after having recalled instances of self-confidence. Affective or emotional validation occurs when people feel good about a belief (e.g., because it makes them feel happy or hopeful).
Postulate 3: “As thoughts are judged as more invalid, they become less impactful, and invalidation can even produce judgment reversals.”
Reversals tend to occur when people have a lot of doubt about their judgments. For example, if you have many doubts about your neighbor being a good person, a reversal could occur and you might conclude that the neighbor must be a bad person. Categorical or dichotomous thinking (e.g., seeing people as either winners or losers) also increases the probability of reversals.
Postulate 4: “The occurrence of self-validation processes is moderated by numerous variables including whether thinking is relatively high or low.”
Individuals high in need for cognition are more motivated or able to think at length about their beliefs.
Situational factors may also affect self-validation. For instance, an individual who feels judged by others is less motivated to assess the validity of his or her own thoughts, and more motivated to attend to other people’s judgments and reactions instead.
Postulate 5: “Self-validation outcomes are moderated by numerous variables that determine which thoughts are salient including the timing of the validating variable.”
Timing can determine what is validated. For example, if a person is first made to feel uncertain (e.g., asked to think of a time when they experienced doubt) and then asked to nod their head (a gesture associated with confidence), their subjective feelings of uncertainty will probably increase. This is unlikely to occur if the timing of head nodding and uncertainty prime are reversed.
Postulate 6: “The meaning of potential validation variables is flexible and thought use is only enhanced when the variable is interpreted as an indicator of validity.”
No particular variable (e.g., positive mood, sense of power) is validating for everyone or all the time. What matters is how an action is framed or how a person interprets a variable.
For example, nodding usually shows agreement but it might, in some situations, indicate disagreement (e.g., nodding to say, “yeah, whatever”).
Validating and invalidating thoughts through actions
In summary, if thoughts are not validated, they do not affect our behavior.
Thoughts are, metaphorically speaking, like cars passing through a busy intersection: In most cases, we watch them go by and do not interfere with the traffic flow. That is, seldom do we act on passing thoughts or use them in making judgments. Why? Partly because we doubt their validity.
Validated thoughts are more likely to influence our decision-making or actions. But, as we have seen, this validation process does not always involve logic. Many factors that influence the perceived validity of thoughts are not related to the content of the thoughts, but to things like one’s mood, self-esteem, self-confidence, and behavior (e.g., head nodding).
Indeed, research suggests particular embodied actions (e.g., smiling, sitting up straight) may be associated with validation, while others (e.g., frowning, slumping) tend to be associated with invalidation. For instance, in one study, writing a thought on a piece of paper, ripping up the paper, and throwing it in the trash invalidated the thought and reduced its effects on judgments.
And a behavior might have the reverse effect on a previous belief if the behavior is reframed or reinterpreted to mean the opposite (e.g., cleaning conceptualized as adding purity vs. removing dirt).
Applications of self-validation theory
Mindfulness meditation. A key element of mindfulness meditation is non-judgmental attention to the present moment (e.g., treating thoughts as if clouds passing through the sky). By detaching from thoughts, we reduce their validity.
Viewing thoughts in this way could be especially helpful for depressed patients. Why? Because they are more likely to have negative and pessimistic thoughts—which, if assumed to reflect reality, can elevate anxiety and worsen mood.
Increasing positive beliefs. The reviewed findings can also be used for the purpose of increasing positive beliefs, such as positive self-talk (e.g., “I can do it”). How? By nodding one’s head, for instance, while listening to an audio recording of an empowering thought. Any action or position—smiling, back erect, chest inflated—that is interpreted as empowering and validating may have similar effects.
