3d (edited) • Q&A 🗣️
Reflection 5: Determine Your Baseline Trading Psychology
Answer from your actual behavior in the last 10–20 trades or the most recent five sessions. Do not answer from the trader you want to be or the version that sounds better. Each question has four options. Choose the one closest to what has been happening.
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1️⃣ When price begins to move and a possible entry appears, what usually occurs first?
A. A strong pull to get in before it runs without me.
B. A check against the written criteria before any click.
C. An internal argument that this particular instance justifies an exception.
D. Extra looking around because staying flat feels incomplete.
2️⃣ After a losing trade closes, what is the most common next action?
A. Another entry relatively quickly, often sized to recover.
B. Review of whether the original invalidation was honored, then waiting.
C. Holding or re-entering because exiting would confirm something unwanted about my read.
D. Immediate analysis of what the market “should” have done.
3️⃣ How do you typically treat a stop once you are in a trade?
A. It stays where the plan put it unless new information actually invalidates the setup.
B. It can be adjusted if the current picture looks different from the entry thesis.
C. It sometimes widens because being stopped out would mean I was wrong.
D. It is frequently moved or ignored when the urge to stay in rises.
4️⃣ On a session with few clean setups, what tends to happen?
A. I remain flat for long stretches without manufacturing participation.
B. I take marginal ideas because activity itself reduces the restlessness.
C. I keep scanning until something appears that can be framed as valid.
D. I force the original bias because price “has to” respect the level.
5️⃣ Which internal line has been closest to recent pre-entry speech?
A. “I need to get in / I don’t want to miss this.”
B. “Is the setup actually present according to the rules?”
C. “I know the rule, but I can see what’s happening.”
D. “Just one more and then I’ll stop.”
6️⃣ When a trade moves against the entry, what is the dominant response?
A. Exit at the predefined invalidation.
B. Fight or add because the move is temporary and price should reverse.
C. Hold longer while gathering more reasons it can still work.
D. Partial or full exit, then immediate search for the next opportunity.
7️⃣ After a string of winners, what changes in the following trades?
A. Size or frequency increases because recent results feel confirmatory.
B. Process, size, and criteria stay the same.
C. Rules loosen slightly because confidence in personal judgment is higher.
D. I look for more trades to keep the positive feeling going.
8️⃣ How often do you enter before all stated criteria are met?
A. Rarely; early entries are treated as rule breaks.
B. Frequently when the move looks strong and waiting feels costly.
C. Occasionally when I judge the context overrides the checklist.
D. When the prior trade was a loss and I need to get back in.
9️⃣ What does a losing trade usually represent in the moment it closes?
A. Information about that particular setup.
B. Evidence that I still need to prove competence.
C. A signal that I should have acted faster or larger.
D. Something the market did that it should not have done.
1️⃣0️⃣ When no valid setup is present, how does inactivity feel?
A. Like a completed decision.
B. Like deprivation or unfinished business.
C. Tolerable but requiring effort to stay with.
D. Something to fill by finding any reasonable-looking idea.
1️⃣1️⃣ How do you handle a technically valid setup that is poorly located?
A. Skip it; location is part of the framework.
B. Take it because the pattern itself is present.
C. Take it smaller while still participating.
D. Take it if recent results have been poor and I need a win.
1️⃣2️⃣ Which description matches recent live-trade management most closely?
A. Plan is left intact; adjustments only on clear invalidation.
B. Frequent partials, stop moves, or adds driven by the need to do something.
C. Occasional tinkering after a prior loss.
D. Management used to force the original prediction to be correct.
1️⃣3️⃣ After being stopped out, what is the typical internal reaction?
A. Note the information and wait for the next independent setup.
B. Immediate desire to re-enter the same idea or opposite direction.
C. Extended analysis to understand why I was wrong.
D. Argument with the stop location or the market’s behavior.
1️⃣4️⃣ How selective have entries been in the last several sessions?
A. High; many opportunities are passed.
B. Low; most movement produces an attempt.
C. Variable depending on recent P&L.
D. Selective until a loss, then less selective.
1️⃣5️⃣ What is the relationship between recent results and next-trade size?
A. Size stays constant.
B. Size increases after wins.
C. Size increases after losses to recover.
D. Size increases when I feel I need to demonstrate skill.
1️⃣6️⃣ When the tape does not match the conditions the plan was built for, what occurs?
A. Stand down.
B. Continue looking for any way to participate.
C. Trade the original idea anyway because it “should” work.
D. Trade smaller versions of the idea.
1️⃣7️⃣ How often does the sentence “just one more” or its equivalent appear?
A. Rarely or never.
B. Several times per session on active days.
C. Mainly after losses.
D. When I have been flat for a while.
1️⃣8️⃣ What happens to rule adherence when personal judgment strongly disagrees with the checklist?
A. The checklist wins.
B. Judgment is allowed to override.
C. I enter and plan to manage it carefully.
D. I wait but feel the conflict the entire time.
1️⃣9️⃣ After three consecutive losses, what is the most likely next behavior?
A. Same process, same size, next valid setup only.
B. Increased frequency or size aimed at recovery.
C. Extra chart time and analysis before the next click.
D. Temporary avoidance followed by a larger entry.
2️⃣0️⃣ How do you experience the market when a high-conviction idea is invalidated?
A. As information that the conditions changed.
B. As something that should not have happened.
C. As a personal miss that needs to be corrected quickly.
D. As a reason to re-enter in the same direction once it “settles.”
2️⃣1️⃣ What is the primary driver of most recent entries?
A. Presence of predefined criteria.
B. Fear of missing the move.
C. Desire to be active or to recover.
D. Need for the trade to confirm a view of my ability.
2️⃣2️⃣ How comfortable are you remaining completely flat for an entire session?
A. Comfortable; it is a legitimate outcome.
B. Uncomfortable; I usually find at least one trade.
C. Possible but only after significant internal negotiation.
D. Rare; flat sessions feel like wasted opportunity.
2️⃣3️⃣ When you are in a winning trade, what tends to occur?
A. Plan is followed; no need to predict the exact exit.
B. Frequent checking and micro-adjustments.
C. Size is mentally increased for the next similar idea.
D. Desire to lock something in quickly so the win is real.
2️⃣4️⃣ Which pattern appears most often around stops?
A. Stops are placed and left.
B. Stops are moved to avoid being wrong.
C. Stops are widened or removed when the trade “looks different.”
D. Stops are honored but immediately followed by another entry.
2️⃣5️⃣ How do recent winning streaks affect the next decision?
A. No material change in criteria or size.
B. Slightly earlier entries or larger size.
C. More willingness to take borderline setups.
D. Increased scanning for additional trades.
2️⃣6️⃣ What is the usual response to boredom or a slow tape?
A. Continued observation without forced action.
B. Creation of lower-quality ideas to participate.
C. Frustration that leads to a marginal entry.
D. Review of the plan and acceptance of no trade.
2️⃣7️⃣ After a loss that feels personal, what appears in the following trades?
A. Same mechanical process.
B. Attempts to “get it back” in size or frequency.
C. Hesitation followed by an oversized entry.
D. Extra justification before clicking.
2️⃣8️⃣ How often do you modify a rule mid-trade?
A. Almost never.
B. When the current price action seems to support a different plan.
C. When I am in drawdown on the trade.
D. When exiting would confirm an unwanted identity conclusion.
2️⃣9️⃣ What does “the setup is too good to fail” or similar language correlate with?
A. Rare; most ideas are treated as probabilistic.
B. Premature or forced entries.
C. Holding past invalidation.
D. Both early entry and refusal to exit.
3️⃣0️⃣ How do you treat a day with zero trades?
A. As a successful application of the filter.
B. As incomplete; I usually add at least one attempt.
C. As acceptable only if the market was truly dead.
D. As something that increases pressure the next session.
3️⃣1️⃣ When price does the opposite of the thesis, what is the first internal move?
A. Accept the invalidation.
B. Look for reasons it will still reverse.
C. Feel the need to re-enter to correct the outcome.
D. Question whether the original criteria were strict enough.
3️⃣2️⃣ How consistent is execution quality after a win versus after a loss?
A. Essentially the same.
B. Looser after wins.
C. More aggressive after losses.
D. Both looser after wins and more aggressive after losses.
3️⃣3️⃣ What is the most common reason for an unplanned extra trade?
A. Genuine new information that meets criteria.
B. Desire to participate or recover.
C. Belief that personal read overrides the pause.
D. Need to end the session with a better result.
3️⃣4️⃣ How do you respond when a favorite or high-conviction level is approached?
A. Wait for full criteria.
B. Enter early because the level “should” hold or break.
C. Enter on first touch to avoid missing it.
D. Size larger than normal because conviction is high.
3️⃣5️⃣ What happens to analysis time after a losing trade?
A. Remains roughly constant.
B. Increases substantially while seeking certainty.
C. Decreases because the next entry arrives quickly.
D. Shifts toward justifying why the loss should not have occurred.
3️⃣6️⃣ How often is size increased specifically to recover a prior loss?
A. Never or almost never.
B. Occasionally.
C. Regularly on the next one or two trades.
D. Whenever the loss felt significant.
3️⃣7️⃣ When rules and current feeling conflict, which usually wins?
A. The pre-written rule.
B. The current feeling or read.
C. A compromise entry.
D. The feeling after a recent loss, the rule after a recent win.
3️⃣8️⃣ What is the dominant need the market is being asked to satisfy recently?
A. Clear conditions that can be executed.
B. Stimulation or relief from flatness.
C. Proof or restoration of competence.
D. Confirmation that the read was correct.
3️⃣9️⃣ How do you handle the first pullback after entry?
A. According to the original invalidation plan.
B. By moving the stop or adding.
C. By exiting early then looking to re-enter.
D. By holding because the idea is still “right.”
4️⃣0️⃣ After a gap or fast open, what is the typical first behavior?
A. Wait for the plan’s conditions.
B. Immediate participation to avoid missing the move.
C. Multiple quick attempts.
D. Forced fade or continuation based on what “should” happen.
4️⃣1️⃣ How attached are you to the outcome of any single trade?
A. Low; it is one sample.
B. High enough that a loss changes the next several decisions.
C. High enough that I will manage around the original prediction.
D. Variable; higher after a streak of either wins or losses.
4️⃣2️⃣ What occurs when you have been flat for more than an hour?
A. Continued waiting if criteria are absent.
B. Increased urgency to find something.
C. Lowering of standards for the next idea.
D. Both increased urgency and lowered standards.
4️⃣3️⃣ How do you treat a setup that meets technical criteria but sits in poor context?
A. Pass.
B. Take it.
C. Take it if I have been inactive.
D. Take it if I need to prove the method still works.
4️⃣4️⃣ What is the most frequent post-loss sentence?
A. “Next valid setup.”
B. “I can make it back.”
C. “I should have known.”
D. “It has to reverse / this shouldn’t have happened.”
4️⃣5️⃣ How often do emotions directly produce an order?
A. Rarely; there is a gap between feeling and click.
B. Regularly on active or losing days.
C. Mainly the urge not to miss something.
D. Mainly the urge not to be wrong.
4️⃣6️⃣ When reviewing the last ten trades, which cluster is largest?
A. Selective entries, honored stops, consistent size.
B. Early entries, moved stops, or extra trades.
C. Revenge or recovery attempts.
D. Held losers or oversized attempts after being wrong.
4️⃣7️⃣ How do you experience a session that ends flat or small green/red within plan?
A. Acceptable.
B. Incomplete or mildly agitating.
C. A prompt to trade more the next day.
D. Evidence that more aggression was needed.
4️⃣8️⃣ What happens to criteria strictness as the session progresses and results are poor?
A. Stays the same.
B. Loosens.
C. Loosens and size increases.
D. Temporarily tightens, then loosens on a later trade.
4️⃣9️⃣ Which statement is closest to recent reality?
A. Process is followed whether the last trade won or lost.
B. I know the rules but regularly find reasons to set them aside.
C. Activity level rises after losses.
D. Being right on the idea matters more than the predefined exit.
5️⃣0️⃣ Across the questions above, how consistent has your self-description been with the actual sequence of recent trades?
A. Highly consistent with process-oriented answers.
B. Mixed; some process answers and some urgency/recovery/override answers.
C. More consistent with urgency, recovery, or override answers.
D. I notice I gave more process-oriented answers than the trade record supports.
Next step
Please post your full results for all 50 questions in the comments section below.
The answer key will be revealed in the next module once everything in this module has been submitted. It is your responsibility to return to this post (or your comment) after you gain access to the next module, score your answers, and classify which archetype your results indicate.
Access to all following modules is locked until this step is completed.
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Reflection 5: Determine Your Baseline Trading Psychology
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