We are all always eager to verify our beliefs, but less inclined to seek evidence that can disprove them, a phenomenon called confirmation bias. What is confirmation bias in psychology? It is precisely this tendency to seek information that confirms our impressions that helps us explain why the image of oneself remains extraordinarily stable.
According Ramon Nogueras (2020) this bias “is the solution to cognitive dissonance and it is what matters most when we explain why We believe in shit and, above all, why do we continue to believe in shit, even if they show us that they are not truth". Furthermore, as Nogueras himself reminds us, the confirmation bias can lead us to believe that the lack of evidence of something is precisely proof of that something.
With this Psychology-Online article we will see what is confirmation bias, with some examples that describe it more clearly.
How does confirmation bias work? We believe in what we want to believe, like all other human beings. But, are we sure that our vision of reality corresponds to reality? When we make a decision, it is as if our brain does not even take into account everything that can discredit our hidden beliefs: data in line with our way of thinking, instead, gains much more credibility to our eyes.
What is bias? The bias in psychology, in fact, indicates a thought distortion, and in this case it represents our automatic tendency to look for information that confirms the convictions we already have. We are rarely aware of this distortion: our mind operates on automatic pilot, searching the environment for information that gives us reason. For example, if we have an ingrained belief that we are bored, we will automatically see the proof when someone yawns; if someone changes the subject, we deduce that we are not saying anything interesting; we only realize the information consistent with what we are convinced.
Memory also recalls, above all, information that confirms our convictions. Depressed people selectively recall failures, rejections, and disappointments; their memories are influenced by the mood of the moment and by the negative beliefs they have about themselves. In the same way, based on their biases, they will selectively recall consistent information with the idea that they are not desirable or interesting or capable of keeping the loved one with they. They do not do it because they want to suffer, but simply because their mind works automatically.
The same confirmation bias comes into play when we think of others. For example, if we believe that others are unreliable, we observe and we selectively remember the information that confirms who cheat, lie and manipulate.
In this article you will find all the types of cognitive biases.
It's very easy to make mistakes like confirmation bias, and we should be very careful to avoid them. It is but part of human nature to focus on a few relevant achievements and ignore all failures, when one firmly wants something to be true. Confirmation bias is very likely to be seen in the following situations:
- Political debates, particularly during encounters / confrontations between different highly polarized factions.
- Topics of public interest, such as euthanasia, the legalization of soft drugs, civil union ...
- DiagnosisWhen, for example, a doctor who is reading our symptoms under a certain diagnosis tends to exclude others, and seeks to confirm her initial hypothesis.
- Risk management and entrepreneurship, when, for example, an entrepreneur convinced of the idea of it will tend to carry it forward even in the face of clamorous failures.
- Choice of books and newspapers to read, because we can hardly imagine a reader on the left reading a newspaper on the right.
- Conspiracy theorieslike those related to chemtrails, flat earth, vaccines, 9/11, and man on the moon.
- Astrology or clairvoyance, because those who believe in horoscopes, for example, tend to consider them predictive, regardless of the extremely generic language used to make them adaptable to a multitude of interpretations personal. The forer effect explains why there are people who believe in the horoscope.
This cognitive error is so common that, even in English-speaking countries, it is also spoken in everyday language and there is a nomenclature that is used precisely in reference to the way in which we select information and sources according to our convictions: "cherry-picking".
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
