The need for certainty/ need to be right

[Dispassionate]

Where does the need for certainty come from?

And why do some people feel that they need to be right all the time?

 

[Tuffty]

Some random thoughts (that are right of course as I'm right all the time...............as if).

There is also the need for explanations as to why things happen. Even if we don't know we (ie the human race) makes them up. We don't seem to accept that it just happens. eg the market went down today due to the latest bird flu scare etc etc.

I think the need to be right is greater in men than women. Men like to think they know and will be shown up if they don't whereas women are happy to admit they don't know (I've found this in my very unscientific research so it could all be a load of rubbish of course).

Maybe it comes from wanting to control or feel we have some control over things that we really don't.

As you're asking are you finding these impacting you or were you just contemplating.

 

[rols]

Where does the need for certainty come from?

And why do some people feel that they need to be right all the time?

FEAR

 

[Trader333]

Where does the need for certainty come from?

And why do some people feel that they need to be right all the time?

According to psychological theory, the need to be right often comes from being punished as a child when something is deemed to be wrong. So based on that it is a form or aversion therapy and presumably those who need to be right all the time had the greatest punishment as a child.


Paul

 

[dbphoenix]

Where does the need for certainty come from?

12 to 20 years' of training. We're taught from very early on that there is a right answer and many wrong answers, and it's our job to find the right answer (the right answer being the answer that the textbook or curriculum guide says is the right answer). If we're too young to read, much less do research, we try to guess the right answer, which is in the teacher's head.

And why do some people feel that they need to be right all the time?

12 to 20 years' worth of being rewarded for providing the right answer (and, depending on what schools you went to, 12 to 20 years' worth of being punished for providing the wrong answer).

 

[Charlton]

Survival is the key

Where does the need for certainty come from?

On another thread I desribed human persona and how these created as methods to ensure survival.

From birth (perhaps earlier) the vulnerable child starts to explore this strange new universe. It understands survival at the most basic level - it needs to eat and to be warm. It recognises its mother early in its exploration as a source of food and warmth.

its early explorations are confused - events seem to randomly happen and this is a threat to survival. As it explores more and more it observes that events appear to repeat themselves, it remembers these and forms neural connections. Repeatable events are good for survival because you can correlate them with the provision/absence of food and warmth.

Further explorations appear to show that when event a occurs event b always follows. Cause and effect are established. This is good for survival because you can see in advance that food and warmth will follow.

Still further exploratons appear to show that you can manufacture events yourself. You can cry, you can laugh and you can pull silly sweet faces and these are followed by offers of food and warmth.

And so it continues - until certainty, predicability, cause and effect are inextricably linked with survival.

And why do some people feel that they need to be right all the time?

For the same reason - survival. If you are right then you have predicted events correctly and/or you are the cause of events to happen according to your plan of survival.

If you have any doubt that you are not right then you have lost that control and have lost an element of your fight for survival.

It requires a complete change in mind-set to accept and embrace uncertainty and that you may not be right 100% of the time.

This is part of the process of developing a trader's persona and when you can let go of the survival crutches but also fear provided by other personas, it releases tremendous energy for trading. This does not just apply to trading either.

Ironically this "letting go" will actually result in greater trading certainty, intuition and success.

Charlton

 

[Dispassionate]

Some random thoughts (that are right of course as I'm right all the time...............as if).

There is also the need for explanations as to why things happen. Even if we don't know we (ie the human race) makes them up. We don't seem to accept that it just happens. eg the market went down today due to the latest bird flu scare etc etc.

I think the need to be right is greater in men than women. Men like to think they know and will be shown up if they don't whereas women are happy to admit they don't know (I've found this in my very unscientific research so it could all be a load of rubbish of course).

Maybe it comes from wanting to control or feel we have some control over things that we really don't.

As you're asking are you finding these impacting you or were you just contemplating.

Was wondering since everything in the market is not knowable and uncertain, I just find it funny to talk to people who think they know all the time! They always give you rationalisations and answers about market direction with certainty and my answer to them is always "Well, how do you know?" The answer is of course they don't!

For me, all questions are answered with "maybe" and "perhaps"! The truth will reveal itself I always say because we often only know the truth after the event has happened. In the meantime I say just follow the trend.

 

[TheBramble]

For me, all questions are answered with "maybe" and "perhaps"! The truth will reveal itself I always say because we often only know the truth after the event has happened. In the meantime I say just follow the trend.

Which rather makes the the whole issue of asking questions quite pointless. So why did you?

Maybe there's an equally deep need to ask questions too, which are quite independent of any need for an answer.

 

[Dispassionate]

Which rather makes the the whole issue of asking questions quite pointless. So why did you?

Maybe there's an equally deep need to ask questions too, which are quite independent of any need for an answer.

Good point, but I'd disagree that asking questions is pointless. It is the best way to find answers after all.

 

[rog1111]

nature or nurture ?

rog1111

 

[trendie]

Where does the need for certainty come from?

And why do some people feel that they need to be right all the time?

Where does the need for certainty come from?

The world is a very complex environment, and we feel overwhelmed by it.

We overcome this by imposing a structure on the events going on around us.
( this structure may be arbitrary )
This structure provides a sense of understanding.
By feeling that we understand the events around us, via our imposed structure, and its mechanisms, we arrive at a sense of control.
This semblance of control gives rise to a perception of certainty, in that, if we do act A, we will arrive at result B.

If my world-view/structure is that light requires a medium to travel through, I may decide to invent such a medium and call it the luminiferous ether, and hope that some day it gets discovered, and try to tweak equations to explain away any reasons why it may be wrong. I think Einstein did something similar by introducing the Gravitational Constant (or something) to explain away some anomalies in his Relativity theory.

If my world-view requires me to believe that Gods creation is at the centre of the universe, I may squander my time trying to force-fit the observations of the planets into increasingly complex mathematics to uphold this world-view and sense of structure/understanding/control. I may even be disposed to responding to naysayers by burning them alive.

Once we have a sense of structure and control, we are ill-disposed to return to a state of uncertainty by questioning those structures.

And why do some people feel that they need to be right all the time?

Mainly because such peoples beliefs, (following on from above), are deeply and inextricably linked to their sense of self-worth and self-esteem. (after all, are we not Gods finest creation, and what better place for ME, therefore, than at the centre of the universe. If I accept I am merely revolving around the sun, my sense of worth diminishes.)

Using T2W boards as a microcosm, there are people whose sense of worth is so defined by their beliefs about the nature of the markets, that anything contrary is to be challenged. There are those who reside in basements, and also high-flyers who failed to notice the thunderstorms on their radar, (or was it a low-flying bat), who feel only they have the true understanding.
Their sense of self-worth or self-esteem is defined by their sense of perceived unique insights. (and the power that comes from withholding it)
Anyone questioning their beliefs are met with increasingly complex and pedantic concepts, and no quarter given. They attack any questioners by impugning their intelligence or integrity. Ironically, these are the very values the need-to-be-righters are probably lacking or are most insecure about.

Some people feel the need to be right all the time as it is the only thing that gives them a perception of power or worth.

(Phew!! I should get out more)

 

[Dispassionate]

trendie - Brilliant!

 

[erierambler]

Where does the need for certainty come from?

1. uncertainty creates anxiety
2. knowledge relieves anxiety
3. need for knowledge and need to be right.

erie

 

[TheBramble]

Good point, but I'd disagree that asking questions is pointless. It is the best way to find answers after all.

But if no question can ever be answered with certainty (your point, not mine) what is the REAL purpose of asking?

 

[Dispassionate]

But if no question can ever be answered with certainty (your point, not mine) what is the REAL purpose of asking?

Why do you need to know?

 

[TheBramble]

Why do you need to know?

A rhetorician's delight....

 

[davep1234]

as a new trader I want to be right when I make a trade; why?

no moment in the entire life of the stock market has ever been the same.
I want to make money, more importantly, I don't want to lose money, so I am prejudiced right from the start. I want and I am afraid of losing money...

my awareness is blinded. I am not at ease. I cannot see the opportunity when it presents itself. I get out too soon.

I am trying to be right.

as a trader with more experience I want to develop the skill I have been learning to predict the market. if my prediction is correct and I am right I make money, if my prediction is wrong I am out.

having predicted the market correctly and made money one time does not mean the same setup will be profitable. no moment in the market is exactly the same as another, however, the odds are that a similar setup may move in the direction I want it to go are in my favor so I take the trade, place my stop and sell into the

 

[neil]

In an effort to be right, don’t force yourself to do what’s contrary to the realities on the markets. Trade what you see, not what you want. As a trader, you’ve got to be objective and unbiased, rather than subjective and biased. Show respect for the markets.

More plagiarism (except for first line)( Conclusion -at foot of Linda's article)
https://www.paxforex.com/forex-blog/linda-raschke-an-amazon-of-the-wall-street.

 

[Ituglobal]

You would need to do away with bad thinking that has adverse effect on your trading. When you have a negative trade, try to find out why and how you could improve your trading.

 

[Keysha]

I think it's because most of our educational systems are rooted in the thought of right and wrong. Also, being right affirms people's sense of self worth.