MYTH #16
Subsequently myth number sixteen is introduced, If You’re Unsure of Your Answer When Taking a Test, It’s Best to Stick with Your Initial Hunch. 1) While providing test-taking tips, many teachers advise students to use their intuition and stick to their original answer. They lead students to believe that when they change their answers, they are more likely to choose a wrong answer than a right answer. As a result, students go into the test with reluctance to change their answers unless they are truly confident that their new answer is correct. Students also assume that their initial answer is correct. This belief that instincts are right in taking tests is passed between teachers and students and everyone assumes that it must be true. 2) It is further supported by students when they get the test back and notice an answer they might have gotten correct if they had not changed their …show more content…
People tend to remember the instances where they changed a right answer to a wrong one (Lilenfeld et al., 2010). It easier for people to remember the mistakes they have made and forget the times they might have actually dodged a bullet. For these reasons, people believe this myth to be true. While it is nice to believe that intuition is always right, it is not an efficient tool to use when taking a test. 3) Studies actually show that students typically switch wrong answers to right answers more often than they change a right answer to a wrong answer (Lilenfeld et al., 2010). It turns out that students are not better off following their gut feeling as it actually decreases their chance of getting that question correct. Changing answers is actually much more efficient for students. 4) As people continue to believe in this myth, students will continue to go with their gut and assume their initial answer is the correct answer. They will begin to avoid questioning themselves and their answers which
Subsequently myth number sixteen is introduced, If You’re Unsure of Your Answer When Taking a Test, It’s Best to Stick with Your Initial Hunch. 1) While providing test-taking tips, many teachers advise students to use their intuition and stick to their original answer. They lead students to believe that when they change their answers, they are more likely to choose a wrong answer than a right answer. As a result, students go into the test with reluctance to change their answers unless they are truly confident that their new answer is correct. Students also assume that their initial answer is correct. This belief that instincts are right in taking tests is passed between teachers and students and everyone assumes that it must be true. 2) It is further supported by students when they get the test back and notice an answer they might have gotten correct if they had not changed their …show more content…
People tend to remember the instances where they changed a right answer to a wrong one (Lilenfeld et al., 2010). It easier for people to remember the mistakes they have made and forget the times they might have actually dodged a bullet. For these reasons, people believe this myth to be true. While it is nice to believe that intuition is always right, it is not an efficient tool to use when taking a test. 3) Studies actually show that students typically switch wrong answers to right answers more often than they change a right answer to a wrong answer (Lilenfeld et al., 2010). It turns out that students are not better off following their gut feeling as it actually decreases their chance of getting that question correct. Changing answers is actually much more efficient for students. 4) As people continue to believe in this myth, students will continue to go with their gut and assume their initial answer is the correct answer. They will begin to avoid questioning themselves and their answers which