DoubtFree

Why it works

DoubtFree is built on a few well-studied ideas about memory and confidence. Here's the short version. Tap any study to read it yourself.

2.25×

how much heavier a loss feels than a gain of the same size

Tversky & Kahneman, 1992
34%

of a memorized list still retained one day later

Ebbinghaus, replicated 2015
6 mo

how long the three good things exercise helped, in a study of 577 adults

Seligman et al., 2005
62

studies in a 2020 review of impostor syndrome, covering 14,161 people

Bravata et al., 2020

Bad sticks, good slides

Across a huge range of studies, negative events hit harder and last longer in memory than positive ones of the same size. Researchers call this negativity bias.

You can see it in money, too. People weigh losing $100 about twice as heavily as gaining $100. Today it mostly means the awkward thing you said last week is easier to recall than the stuff you got right.

Gaining $1001xLosing $100about 2.25xHow strongly it is weighed, relative to an equal gain
Figure 1. Loss aversion. In Tversky & Kahneman (1992), the median estimate was that a loss is weighed about 2.25 times as heavily as an equal gain.
Baumeister et al., 2001

Writing it down makes it last

Memory fades fast. In Ebbinghaus's classic experiment, most of a memorized list was gone within a day, and a 2015 replication found nearly the same curve. A written record doesn't fade.

Writing good things down helps in a bigger way too. In a 2005 study of 577 adults, people who wrote down three things that went well each night for one week reported higher happiness and fewer depressive symptoms for six months, compared with a placebo group.

0%25%50%75%100%start58.2%20 min44.2%1 hr35.8%9 hr33.7%1 day27.8%2 days25.4%6 days21.1%31 daysTime since learning (log scale)Savings (how much was still remembered)
Figure 2. Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve. Savings is how much faster a list was relearned, a measure of how much memory remained. Data from Ebbinghaus (1885), replicated closely by Murre & Dros (2015). The dashed start is shown for reference.
Seligman et al., 2005

Evidence beats reassurance

Cognitive behavioral therapy often helps people test anxious thoughts by looking at the actual evidence for and against them. "I always mess this up" is hard to argue with in the moment unless you have examples on hand.

Research on self-affirmation also finds that reflecting on your strengths and values can make threats feel less overwhelming. A running list of real things you've done is that kind of evidence.

Beck et al., 1979 and Cohen & Sherman, 2014

How DoubtFree puts it to work

Each step in the app lines up with one of the findings above.

  1. Something goes right

    A compliment, a small win, a time you did it scared.

    Negativity bias means you'd forget it

  2. Log it in seconds

    Type it, add a photo or voice note, and tag it.

    Writing it down keeps it

  3. Watch it stack up

    Insights show your totals and your top strengths.

    Evidence builds over time

  4. Swipe when doubt hits

    Resurface shuffles your proof into a deck.

    You answer doubt with facts

You're not the only one

Feeling like a fraud despite real accomplishments has a name: the impostor phenomenon. It was first described in high-achieving women in 1978 and has since been studied everywhere from classrooms to hospitals.

A 2020 review of 62 studies put rates anywhere from 9% to 82%, depending on how it was measured. Self-doubt shows up for almost everyone, including people who look like they have it all together.

range of reported rates across 62 studies9%82%0%25%50%75%100%
Figure 3. Reported rates of impostor syndrome across the 62 studies in Bravata et al. (2020). The spread mostly came from which screening tool and cutoff each study used.
Clance & Imes, 1978

Keep reading

Why you remember bad days more than good ones The three good things exercise, explained Impostor syndrome in college How to keep a hype file

Where DoubtFree fits

DoubtFree can help you build confidence day to day. For anything bigger, therapy and medical care are the right tools. If self-doubt or anxiety is getting in the way of daily life, a licensed professional can help. In the US, you can call or text 988 any time to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.