People often experience doubt when they encounter setbacks while working toward long-term goals. However, according to a new study, the key factor is not the presence of doubt, but the degree of trust people place in those doubts.
The researchers behind the study report that prompting people to question their own doubts, a process called meta-cognitive doubt, can actually strengthen commitment to goals that are central to their identity.
The study, published in Self and Identity, looks at what happens when people reach what psychologists call an action crisis. This is the point at which someone feels uncertain about whether to keep working toward a major goal, such as becoming a doctor or building a career in a chosen field. Unlike short-term tasks, these long-term goals are closely linked to a person’s sense of self.
Previous research has shown that doubt can lead to people giving up on their goals. In this study, Patrick Carroll and his team at Ohio State University took a different approach. Rather than focusing only on doubt, they also explored what happens when people begin to question whether their doubts are reliable.
Doubt Becomes a Decision Point
Long-term goals that shape a person’s identity usually take years to achieve. Setbacks are common along the way. For example, poor grades, financial stress, or slow progress can all lead people to question whether they should continue pursuing certain goals.
Earlier studies have often treated doubt as a single force that reduces motivation. Carroll’s research builds on the idea that people also have beliefs about their own thinking. This means that people not only experience doubt, but also differ in how much they trust those feelings.
Psychologists call this second layer meta-cognitive certainty or meta-cognitive doubt. For example, a person might think, “I’m not sure I can do this,” but also question whether that feeling is accurate or just a reaction to a difficult moment.
Measuring Meta-Cognitive Doubt
To test this idea, Carroll and his team conducted two studies that used different methods to prompt people to question their own doubts.
In the first study, 267 people completed a questionnaire about whether they were experiencing an action crisis regarding their most important personal goal. The survey asked them to rate statements about doubting whether to keep trying or to stop. Afterward, participants completed what they thought was an unrelated writing task about their memories.
Half of the group wrote about a time when they felt sure about their thoughts. The other half wrote about a time when they questioned their own thinking. After this exercise, everyone rated their level of commitment to their main goal.
The results showed an unexpected pattern. People who already doubted their goal and then wrote about feeling confident about their internal thoughts became less committed to that goal. This exercise seemed to make them more certain about their doubts. On the other hand, those who doubted their goal and then wrote about feeling unsure of their own thinking reported stronger commitment. Writing about doubt made them question whether their doubts were justified in the first place.
“On some level, it may seem that doubt would be additive,” Carroll said. “Doubt plus doubt would equal more doubt. But this study found the opposite: Doubt plus doubt equaled less doubt.”
Replicating the Effect
Carroll repeated the experiment with 130 college students, using a different method to create meta-cognitive doubt. In this study, participants filled out the same action crisis questionnaire, but some were asked to write with their non-dominant hand.
Earlier research has found that writing with the non-dominant hand feels awkward and less controlled. People often see this physical discomfort as a sign that their thoughts might not be reliable. In Carroll’s study, this simple change was enough to make participants question their previous doubts.
Once again, people who questioned whether their doubts were valid showed greater commitment to their identity goals. Seeing the same effect in two different experiments gives researchers more confidence in the results.
Rethinking the Role of Doubt
The outcomes reveal that simply experiencing doubt does not always lower motivation. The degree of trust that people place in these doubts is the key factor. If people view their internal doubts as clear signs, they may lose commitment to their goal. However, if they rationalize these doubts as being temporary or uncertain, they are more likely to remain motivated.
Even though this new way of thinking has benefits, Carroll warns against ignoring all doubt, as doing so could go against good judgment in some cases. The goal is not to eliminate doubt completely, but to prevent it from automatically deciding important life choices.
“You don’t want to undermine humility and replace it with overconfidence or premature certainty,” Carroll cautioned. “This needs to be used wisely.”
Austin Burgess is a writer and researcher with a background in sales, marketing, and data analytics. He holds a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and a Data Analytics certification. His work combines analytical training with a focus on emerging science, aerospace, and astronomical research.