Identify Negatively Biased Thoughts
Since it’s hard to challenge a thought we don’t even know we’re having, our first step is identification. To help us identify our biased thoughts, let’s talk through some of the common cognitive biases we have when we’re in an anxiety spiral.
Self-efficacy
One of the biggest ways that code review anxiety influences us is by reducing our self-efficacy - that is, it makes us doubt our abilities. [1] For example, we may doubt our abilities to tolerate or manage our anxiety, and this doubt can show up via thoughts like “I can’t handle this” or “I’m too anxious.”
We may also doubt our abilities as software practitioners, for example by having thoughts like “I’m not capable of solving this” or “I’m not good at this.”
Cost Bias
Another way that code review anxiety can influence us is by increasing cost bias; this is when we overestimate the cost of a negative outcome. For example, when we make a mistake, instead of thinking to ourselves “I wish that hadn’t happened,” we might think to ourselves “I am stupid and an embarrassment.”
Probability Bias
Relatedly, you may see an increase in probability bias, which is when we overestimate the likelihood of a negative outcome. For example, you might think to yourself “I probably did this wrong” or “my teammate is going to judge me” instead of considering that you weren’t wrong or that your teammate won’t have any thoughts about you.
Let's Practice!
Let’s apply this to identify some of YOUR negatively biased thoughts during code reviews. First, think about a time you experienced code review anxiety, then briefly describe the situation in 1-2 sentences, either in a notebook or code editor.
Next, in a table like the one you see below, write down some of the biased thoughts you had during that situation in the “Thought” column. For each thought, also rate how much you believe the thought to be true from 0 (I believe this 0%) to 100 (I believe this 100%) in the “Pre-Believability” column. Ignore the “Post-Believability” column for now. We’ll come back to this column later!
Some guiding questions to help you identify biased thoughts are:
How am I doubting my abilities as an engineer?
How am I doubting my abilities to manage my anxiety?
What am I worried will happen?
What do I think are the consequences of that outcome happening?
What am I afraid it means to / about me if that outcome were to happen?
Note: Some people think in questions, rather than declarative statements. In these cases, dive one step deeper and write down what the implied answer to that question is. For example, if you think “Am I bad at this?” you might write down “I am bad at this” instead.
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