Principlev1
Use external observations of behavior rather than
Use external observations of behavior rather than introspection to validate self-models, treating discrepancies between internal narrative and external evidence as diagnostic of metacognitive blind spots.
Why This Is a Principle
This principle derives directly from Bias Blind Spot Asymmetry (bias blind spot - people fail to detect cognitive biases in themselves), Knowledge of cognitive biases does not reduce susceptibility (knowledge of biases doesn't reduce susceptibility), and Actual behavior reveals operative values more reliably than (actual behavior reveals operative values more reliably than stated preferences). The principle prescribes a specific methodology: prefer behavioral evidence over introspective reports when evaluating your own schemas. This is actionable, general across domains, and follows necessarily from the axiom that introspection is systematically unreliable for self-assessment.