Confirmation
Bias
Confirmation bias is the tendency to analyse and interpret information in such a way that supports or confirms a person’s existing beliefs. This fallacy occurs when a person only selects information that is supportive of their belief whilst ignoring other conflicting information. Although it may be difficult to eliminate our confirmation bias in its entirety, we can learn strategies to manage it through education and by building up our critical thinking skills.
Knowing
Confirmation Bias
Why
Confirmation Bias
OCCURS
People are likely to analyse information to confirm their personal beliefs, particularly when the matter is of significance or relevant to themselves. One reason which explains why people are likely to have confirmation bias is the way in which we process information.
Let’s think about this in the context of our ancestors hunting for food. When they encountered a dangerous animal, they had very little time to decide whether to hunt the animal and fight or to run instead. This left little to no time to even begin analysing all the different variables in order to make a decision that is fully informed. It may be true that the past experience of the hunters may have caused them to run away when they looked at the size of the animal. Although, they may have chosen to fight if another group of hunters appeared as this increased their chances of survival. Similarly, our brain uses shortcuts in order to make decisions that are quick.
Every day, we are bombarded with new information in a social world and it is very difficult to take the time to process each and every piece of information with care, to base our unbiased views. Instead, we are limited to processing this information from our own perspectives which introduces biases in our way of thinking.
Another reason why confirmation bias may occur is because it tends to protect our self-esteem. It is very difficult to accept that the beliefs we hold often at times can be false. We may deeply hold onto beliefs and these play a role in our identiities. Acknowledging our beliefs or viewpoints are false can be uncomfortable and even painful. It may lower our self-esteem and make us believe we aren’t as intelligent as we thought we were. Because of this, we tend to look only at information which supports our beliefs rather than disproves it simply because, we don’t like to feel bad about ourselves.
Confirmation Bia
Examples
Failure to seek out objective information
Evaluating information in ways that supports existing belief
Only remembering information which supports existing belief
Blocking out any information which challenges the existing belief
Why
important?
Confirmation bias is important to consider as it can lead people to believing false information or giving a greater weight to the information which supports the beliefs of that person, despite the evidence being insufficient or even opposing to that belief. Many people may also become overconfident with the beliefs they hold as they have accumulated multiple evidence to support their belief, however they have also become ignorant to evidence which opposes their belief. These events can lead to decision making with great risk and cause people to overlook the warning signs.
Confirmation bias impacts on our ability to make decisions as they cannot be made fully informed if we solely put emphasis on the evidence that confirms our beliefs. A decision that is poorly informed is likely to cause unwanted results. In situations, it is a good idea to keep an open mind before making a decision. Becoming aware of your confirmation bias is the initial step to minimising it.
Often, we aren’t actually aware of our own confirmation bias when making decisions as this is likely to be a subconscious process. In order to minimise confirmation bias, we must admit that it is a problem in the first place. We can do this by understanding the effect it can have on our decisions and how we approach every day situations.
The following are measures we can take to reduce confirmation bias in our decision making, enhancing our critical thinking skills:
Avoiding
CONFirmation BIAS
Approach people who have different beliefs and ask them about it.
This will help us leave our echo chambers and allow us to objectively view information so that we can make informed decisions. Surround yourself with a diverse group of people and don’t be afraid to hear beliefs different to your own. It may be useful here to use the Six Thinking Hats approach.
Actively look for evidence which can disprove your current beliefs and point of view.
Confirmation bias is more likely to occur is we are actively searching for points that support our beliefs. It is uncomfortable and challenging to search for evidence which disproves our beliefs however, this will mean we are minimising confirmation bias as we are keeping an open mind and searching for different perspectives.
SIX
THINKING
HATS
Process
Controllong the process, to think about thinking itself. What summaries & Conclusion can be drawn?
Creative
The hat is associated with creative thinking and the ability to create new ideas and solutions to complicated problems.
Benefit
Looking at the positive aspects of the issue or topic. This hat encourages looking at the benefits of the situation.
Facts
Looking at the data, facts nd evaluating information already known as well as information that is needed.
Emotions
Associated with emotions, feels, intuition/’gut feeling’. Allows people to put forward their emotions with the absence of justification and prejudice.
Caution
Related to caution and is used for the purpose of critical judgement. What are potential negative aspects to the issue or topic?