Self-consistency Prompt

Definition

A prompting technique that generates multiple independent solutions to the same problem and then determines the most consistent or frequently occurring result. This approach improves reliability by leveraging multiple reasoning paths.

Characteristics

• Multiple independent attempts at the same problem
• Aggregate results across different solutions
• Uses majority voting or consensus
• Reduces impact of individual errors
• Increases confidence in final answers

Example

Prompt:

Calculate how old Maria's sister is now if Maria is currently 25 years old and her sister was born 3 years after Maria.

Approach 1:
Maria is 25 years old
Sister was born 3 years after Maria
So sister is 25 - 3 = 22 years old

Approach 2:
Maria's current age: 25
Age difference: 3 years (sister is younger)
Sister's age: 25 - 3 = 22 years old

Approach 3:
When Maria was born: year 0
When sister was born: year 3
Maria's current age from birth: 25 years
Sister's current age from birth: 25 - 3 = 22 years

Consensus: All approaches agree that Maria's sister is 22 years old.

Use Cases

• Mathematical calculations requiring high accuracy
• Complex reasoning where errors are likely
• Decision-making with multiple valid approaches
• Verification of critical information
• Quality assurance for important outputs

Benefits

• Higher accuracy through redundancy
• Error detection and correction
• Increased confidence in results
• Robust against single-path reasoning errors
• Self-validating approach

Limitations

• Requires more computational resources
• Uses significantly more tokens
• Slower response generation
• May still converge on wrong answer if systematic bias exists
• Not efficient for simple or clear-cut problems

Implementation Strategies

1. Multiple reasoning paths: Solve the same problem differently
2. Varied approaches: Use different methods or perspectives
3. Consensus building: Compare and aggregate results
4. Confidence scoring: Weight solutions by clarity/certainty
5. Error identification: Flag inconsistent results

Best Practices

• Generate truly independent solutions
• Use different reasoning approaches
• Clearly separate each attempt
• Explicitly compare results
• Explain any discrepancies
• Choose the most consistent answer
• Document the consensus process

Variants

• Simple majority: Most frequent answer wins
• Weighted consensus: Weight by solution quality
• Confidence-based: Consider certainty levels
• Iterative refinement: Use inconsistencies to improve

When to Use

• High-stakes decisions requiring accuracy
• Complex problems prone to errors
• When single-path reasoning is insufficient
• Quality control for critical calculations
• Verification of important conclusions
• Tasks where multiple valid approaches exist