Conviction Barometer
An introspection tool to evaluate and evolve your opinions.
The Conviction Barometer is an interactive method designed to encourage critical thinking, introspection and personal opinion evaluation. It is used in conferences, educational games and debates.
This tool allows participants to materialize their position and express their knowledge level and degree of uncertainty, promoting metacognitive reflection on personal biases.
The concept
The Conviction Barometer is an interactive tool encouraging critical thinking and introspection. It allows you to evaluate your degree of confidence in a statement on a scale from 0% to 100%.
Rather than simply saying "I agree" or "I disagree", you precisely position your level of conviction.
The two evaluation axes
The device allows participants to position their confidence in a statement on a scale from 0 to 100%. In parallel, users evaluate their level of certainty or uncertainty regarding the statement.
Degree of confidence
Evaluate the veracity of a statement on a scale from 0% (completely false) to 100% (completely true).
Certainty level
Simultaneously evaluate the strength of your convictions: are you sure of your evaluation or rather uncertain?
The framework offers two complementary approaches:
- Certainty : 0% (no certainty) to 100% (totally certain)
- Uncertainty : 0% (no doubt) to 100% (totally uncertain)
How does it work?
Presentation of a statement
A statement is presented to participants, for example: "Bees can count up to 4".
Initial positioning
Participants position their sliders according to their intuition or prior knowledge.
Presentation of information
New information is presented during discussions or presentations.
Position adjustment
Participants adjust their positions based on newly presented data.
This dual evaluation enables deeper introspection while clarifying how opinions evolve in the face of evidence.
Practical example
"Bees can count up to 4"
Facing this statement, you position your sliders according to your initial intuition. Then, as information is presented, you can adjust your position.
This process allows finer introspection on how your opinions evolve facing new data.
Impact of information sources
Source credibility significantly affects opinion formation. Initial skepticism about bees' counting abilities can evolve when sources of different qualities are presented:
Higher quality sources significantly transform understanding and reduce uncertainty.
The three pillars of the approach
Materialize positions
Visualize where you stand relative to a statement
Evaluate knowledge
Compare intuitions to facts
Manage uncertainty
Recognize gaps and accept the evolution of certainties
Uncertainty management
The tool emphasizes that uncertainty reflects subject complexity and openness to new information.
"Recognizing and expressing uncertainty is an important skill for making informed decisions."
Metacognition and critical thinking
The method combines critical evaluation with metacognitive awareness, helping individuals formulate informed judgments while understanding the foundations of their certainties or doubts.
This approach enables visual and interactive reflection on thinking processes and opinion adjustment, applicable in educational contexts, debates and collaborative activities.
Usage contexts
Conferences
See our conference Invisible Chains: Free Will Between Determinism and Freedom
Educational games and quizzes
Debates
Workshops and collaborative activities
Benefits
Encourages exploring and questioning statements
Develops analysis and evaluation skills
Makes learning interactive and memorable
Shows how views change in the face of evidence
Why is it important?
We often tend to overestimate our certainty facing statements. The Conviction Barometer helps you:
- ✓ Become aware of your confidence biases
- ✓ Distinguish what you believe from what you know
- ✓ Observe how your opinions evolve facing evidence
- ✓ Develop metacognitive reflection on your thinking processes