1,850 simulated runs1,850 personas29 simulation batches

Saying no

What stops people from saying no — and what changes when they practise it?

Where the numbers come from

The data comes from language-model simulations. A model generates personas with a biography, life situation and resistances, then plays out three months for each one — from first encounter to everyday life after month 3. We evaluate the feelings reported per stage, the share of personas still active, and satisfaction.

These are not real people and not usage data. They are simulated journeys we use to test content before anyone sees it. The numbers show how a language model models these situations — they are not an empirical statement about any population and do not replace a study.

Which feelings dominate

Share of all reported feelings across the whole journey.
  • satisfied19.2 %
  • proud16.2 %
  • surprised9.3 %
  • relieved9.1 %
  • motivated7.8 %
  • curious7.6 %
  • frustrated4.8 %
  • sceptical3.9 %

The journey across three months

Per stage: how many personas are still there, how satisfied they are on average (scale 0–10) and which feelings are reported most often at that point.
Stagestill theresatisfactionmost frequent feelings
First encounter100 %6.5curious 39.7 % · sceptical 25.1 % · relieved 9.4 % · motivated 4.6 % · unsure 3.3 %
Start screen100 %7surprised 29.7 % · curious 24.3 % · sceptical 13.2 % · relaxed 8.7 % · relieved 7.7 %
Getting started100 %6.7relieved 35.2 % · surprised 10.3 % · overwhelmed 8.4 % · eager 6.7 % · curious 5.9 %
Describing their own situation100 %7.1relieved 25.8 % · eager 25.3 % · surprised 12.1 % · motivated 7.7 % · curious 6.2 %
First exercise100 %7.7surprised 38.1 % · relieved 14.7 % · sad 11.9 % · proud 4.7 % · frustrated 4.2 %
Week 1100 %7motivated 30.1 % · proud 20 % · frustrated 16.2 % · surprised 4.7 % · curious 4.4 %
Everyday life after week 1100 %6.9proud 38.7 % · satisfied 13.4 % · surprised 8.6 % · frustrated 8.2 % · unsure 7.5 %
Month 192.8 %6.7motivated 23.5 % · proud 22.3 % · relieved 13 % · frustrated 10.6 % · surprised 6.1 %
Everyday life after month 192.3 %7.3proud 47.7 % · satisfied 23.5 % · surprised 4.9 % · relieved 4.2 % · unsure 4.1 %
Month 378.8 %7satisfied 48.3 % · proud 14.9 % · grateful 6.1 % · indifferent 5.7 % · motivated 5.5 %
Everyday life after month 376.6 %7.3satisfied 68.3 % · proud 14.6 % · grateful 6.2 % · neutral 3.2 % · elated 1.8 %

How to cite

Dojitai (2026): Saying no. Simulation data: 19,494 runs across 22 everyday topics. https://dojitai.ch/en/daten/saying-noDownload JSON

More topics

Saying no: 1850 simulated runs | Dojitai