The Implications of Confidence

goingfor99th

What do you guys feel are the implications of the self-perceived confidence of a test taker when they take a test? Have you ever been really confident in your performance on a PT only to find that you've bombed multiple sections? Have you ever felt bad about a PT and discovered afterwards that you over-performed?

Personally I've experienced a bit of both extremes throughout my preparation, but I find I've done my best work when I'm slightly pessimistic about my performance. I think this happens because my logical faculties are in overdrive on a PT when I'm not exactly certain on any given number of questions (i.e. when I've narrowed my options to two answer choices on an LR/RC question), and so I'm forced to give the proper justification before selecting my answer. This attitude seems to indicate more correct answers than when I'm overconfident and feel I've nailed a test.

I ask because I tend to think mindset, whether it's overconfidence or self-loathing, can be a major problem for some test takers, especially as they approach the end of their respective journeys. I also think the whole 'mindset' discussion is underrepresented when it comes to talk of LSAT preparation.

So, what do you all think? What are your experiences with your levels of confidence?

Accounts Playable

This is very important (and often overlooked) part of LSAT prep. I talk about this in my webinar I did back in October. It's the 6th point I make at the end:

https://7sage.com/webinar/davids-six-tips-on-doing-it-right/

vanessa fisher

Totally agree.
I'd also add that this is probably individual as well. That is, that some people suffer more with under confidence and others with over confidence, and slightly different strategies may be useful for different types of people.

That said, I also think letting go of both mind states is the sweet spot. Finding that way to be in the present moment with each question as its own and not determined by how we felt about the last one (positive or negative). Honestly, I feel this more neutral state of mind is something central to meditation practice, which is why I feel my meditation practice in the past is useful and why I've picked it up again (and there are a lot of benefits of meditation on other areas of life too

goingfor99th

@"vanessa fisher" said:
Totally agree.
I'd also add that this is probably individual as well. That is, that some people suffer more with under confidence and others with over confidence, and slightly different strategies may be useful for different types of people.

That said, I also think letting go of both mind states is the sweet spot. Finding that way to be in the present moment with each question as its own and not determined by how we felt about the last one (positive or negative). Honestly, I feel this more neutral state of mind is something central to meditation practice, which is why I feel my meditation practice in the past is useful and why I've picked it up again (and there are a lot of benefits of meditation on other areas of life too

Funny you should say that. My tutor constantly preaches positive self-talk and walking the line between overconfidence and self-doubt. He also preaches meditation.

I felt great when I took my exam, which is uncharacteristic of most of my PTs. I was totally in the zone except for on maybe one or two questions. That's the reason I'm so interested in this topic.

vanessa fisher

Yeah, I'm really convinced mindset is crucial.
I'd say mindset is necessary but not sufficient condition for getting into the 99th

AllezAllez21

I really like what @"vanessa fisher" said about mindfulness.

For me personally, I saw a big jump in my scores over the past month that was at least partially a result of confidence. It's a bit of a chicken and the egg situation, but my confidence and scores rose in tandem. I found that for LR, having confidence really helps me to move faster. I still rarely move on without looking at every answer choice, but now I am confident in eliminating wrong answers faster. It's definitely a snowball effect where I can get through sections quickly and then feel good about spending time with the harder questions.

Confidence in LG has been about knowing I have time to make my setups and work through problems, which ultimately saves time in the end.

Overall, I think under confidence clouds judgement by inducing panic and making us go into fight or flight mode, which shuts down logical faculties. I think I am better off being over confident than under.

Alex

@"Accounts Playable" said:
This is very important (and often overlooked) part of LSAT prep. I talk about this in my webinar I did back in October. It's the 6th point I make at the end:

https://7sage.com/webinar/davids-six-tips-on-doing-it-right/

Love this webinar and it taught me the discipline I would need to succeed. I still watch this once every month or so cause I'm that big of a loser. But one thing that I loved about it was your confidence when you finally took the test for the last time. You walked in and were cool, calm, collected and knew you killed it. I think that speaks a lot to how powerful confidence can be!