Imagine you are taking the state exam, which is a multiple-choice exam.  You are moving along a decent pace.  A question that’s a little more difficult comes up.  You choose A for the answer, but you mark it to review.  At the end of the test, you go back to review it.  You are wavering between A and C.  Should you stick with your original answer?  Or should you change your answer to C?

The common myth is that you should never change your answer.  In science, they call this the first instinct fallacy.  Notice that this is called a fallacy.  Research actually shows you should change it.

You can change your answer from “right to wrong,” “wrong to right,” or “wrong to wrong.”  More often people change it from “wrong to right.”  So you should change your answer.

But why is the prevailing theory that it is better not to change it?

When taking a test, let’s say there were 10 questions that you went back to review.  On five of the questions, you changed the answer from “wrong to right.”  For three of them, you changed from “wrong to wrong.”  And two, you changed from “right to wrong.”  The changes you will remember are the two that you changed from “right to wrong.”  Then it’s easy to convince yourself that you shouldn’t have changed them.

Often the answer you change are answers that you didn’t really know – you guessed at them.  If you later remember them, or something else in the test triggers your memory, you should definitely change them.

If it was a question you knew, not guessed at, you wouldn’t change it.

So if you guess at a question, then later decide to change it – change it with no regret.

Please note that Karen Climer has no affiliation with Climer School of Real Estate.  Her father, Ron Climer, sold Climer School of Real Estate in 2014.  It has since been involved in several mergers and acquisitions and is owned by a large investment company.  Karen owns Demetree School of Real Estate in Orlando, Florida.