There are several different types of behavioral experiments that you can opt for. The one mentioned above is called a “direct hypothesis testing experiment.” However, some things that we might overthink about do not lend themselves to forming hypotheses as easily as this method of experimentation. Other times, fears and negative thoughts are not as easy to test. For example, a lonely person who keeps wondering whether anyone would care if something were to happen to them cannot (and should not) test this by, say, harming himself to see if anyone becomes concerned.
