Evidence of our deluded brains begins with a seemingly innocuous question: Are you happy with your social life? Or, to put it another way, are you unhappy with your social life?
Your answer, you may be surprised to learn, is astonishingly sensitive to which way the question is phrased. People asked if they are happy, rather than unhappy, with their social lifes report greater satisfaction. Responsibility for this peculiar irrationality in our self-knowledge lies with what is known as 'positive test strategy'. As we contemplate that fascinating inner tangle of our attitudes, personality traits and skills, we ask our internal oracle questions to divine what we suppose to be the truth about ourselves. Am I happy with my social life? Do I want to stay married? Would I make a good parent? You then trawl through your store of self-knowledge searching for evidence that the hypothesis in question is correct. You remember that party that you enjoyed last weekend. The touching interest your spouse takes in the small potatoes of your life. Your remarkable talent for manipulating balloons into the shape of animals.
Phrase the question the other way around, however, and your memory throws up a very different pile of evidence. Am I unhappy with my social life? Now you remember what bores you find most of your friends. Do I want a divorce? You think of that dreadful silent meal on your anniversary. Would I make a bad parent? Suddenly your unfortunate tendency to leave valuable possessions behind on public transport comes to mind. That's why people asked if they're happy (rather than unhappy) with their social lives believe themselves to be happier on that front. (The positive test strategy is also the reason you should never ask someone 'Don't you live me any more?').
Cordelia Fine, A Mind of Its Own, pp.62-63
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