Confirmation Bias - 945 Words

What is Confirmation Bias? Confirmation bias is a tendency of people to prefer information that reinforces a thought or believe that they have. People demonstrate this bias when they retain information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way. The effect is stronger for emotional issues and for deeply rooted beliefs. (Science Daily) Examples of Confirmation Bias There are many everyday examples of people using confirmation bias behavior. A student doing research on only one side to an argument for a paper to confirm their thesis may fail to fully search the topic for information that is inconsistent with what they are writing about. Also a reporter who is writing an article on an important issue may only interview†¦show more content†¦The confirmation bias also affected her perspective of The Children’s Place. She created a belief on false premises making claims that were not true. She created a vague hypothesis in her mind and because of her actions it was enough evidence to prove her hypothesis to be true. Reducing Confirmation Bias When it comes to making a purchase, there are some ways to reduce a confirmation bias. For starters, a person can try their best to set equal standards for all evidence regardless of whether or not it supports or challenges their current view. A person should always be open to changing their mind. On a personal level, a person can reduce a bias by slowing their thinking process down. Instead of going with their gut feeling to buy a product right away, they can take the chance to shop around. It can make a person more moderate and can have them start doubting their initial beliefs and start seeing the other side of the argument. People can make an effort to overcome the confirmation bias by deliberately seeking evidence that contradicts their own viewpoints. Conclusion In all, I believe every person is a perpetrator at some point when it comes to using a confirmation bias. We all second guess ourselves and try to convince ourselves that we made the best decision possible in our actions. It is a bias that we are all guilty of, but it is important to be aware of one’s biases instead of becoming ignorant. Works Cited Nickerson, R. (1998).Show MoreRelatedPsychology And Cognitive Science, Confirmation Bias ( Or Confirmatory Bias )1074 Words   |  5 PagesIn psychology and cognitive science, confirmation bias (or confirmatory bias) is a tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one s preconceptions, leading to statistical errors. It is a type of cognitive bias and represents an error of inductive inference toward confirmation of the hypothesis under study. Confirmation bias is a phenomenon wherein decision makers have been shown to actively seek out and assign more weight to evidence that confirms their hypothesis, andRead MoreConfirmation Bias In Dante Alighieris The Divine Comedy700 Words   |  3 Pagesabout in society, hostile to tolerance and unity. Veiled as knowledge, this enemy threatens both learning and growth. It’s name is â€Å"confirmation bias†. Coined in the 1960’s by English Psychologist Peter Wason, confirmation bias is defined as an individual’s tendency to seek out and to favor information that confirms their previously held assumptions. Confirmation bias was no new phenomenon, however, as it is referenced throughout history. Even in Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, when AquinasRead MoreEssay on Prisoners of Silence915 Words   |  4 Pageswoman believes despite evidence because she has seen her daughter make up words for objects she doesnt know the name. Her belief ha s been discredited, but she has found a reason it might be true. Another concept illustrated is that of the Confirmation Bias. It is defined as a tendency to search for information that confirms ones preconceptions and is very similar to belief perseverance in the case of Prisoners of Silence. In this case, the participants of facilitated speech are much more inclinedRead MoreWhat Does The Prosecution Of Wrongful Convictions?1884 Words   |  8 Pagesvision According to Burke (2005), four separate aspects of cognitive bias contributes to the-the maintenance of denial of new evidence in prosecutorial decision making: confirmation bias, selective information processing, belief perseverance, and the avoidance of cognitive dissonance. Confirmation bias leads people to seek and interpret information in a way that supports a view they already hold to be true. While selective bias leads information to be more easily remembered in a way that confirmsRead MoreConfirmation Bias And Non Critical Thinking Qualities1382 Words   |  6 PagesTo thoroughly analyze how and to what extent confirmation bias and non-critical thinking qualities have contributed and essentially modified my overall approach to the Meeting of the Minds project, I first have to clarify the meaning of the terminologies that may need some defining and recapping, for they are not words that would come up in a casual conversation. This will be especially useful for me to be able to accurately address how these readings and discussions over the last few weeks haveRead MoreThe Drunkard s Walk I Had Confirmation Bias832 Words   |  4 PagesBefore I read The Drunkard s Walk I had confirmation bias (haha) towards it. I had seen last years statistics students carrying the book around. It looked really interesting to me and after reading the summary on the back, I had wanted to check it out. When Mr. Letzring told everyone we would read it, some people were disappointed. I by no means enjoy reading, but I was excited to see what the Drunkard s Walk had to bring. I thought it would contain more equations and less conceptual ideas andRead MorePreliminary Bias And The Wason 2-4-6 Paradigm1221 Words   |  5 PagesIn this experiment, we will investigate whether previous participation in a confirmation bias experiment plus full knowledge of confirmation bias and the Wason 2-4-6 paradigm will lead to a higher initial success rate with future testing. A confirmation b ias usually occurs when participants are trying to confirm their beliefs during an experiment. During these experiments, participants results varied between confirmatory and disconfirmatory. The Tukey HSD that was performed for the experiments showedRead MoreSalary Negotiations1732 Words   |  7 Pageswas in favor of both parties. Psychological Biases: There were a couple of biases * Confirmation bias – I was overconfident about the decision I had made and thought that the increment was fair based on the information I had. I never thought that there might be some information which could change the sales figure and show that he had actually achieved an increase in sales for Top Flite. This bias could have cost me dearly had I not realized it after talking to my counterpart over the negotiationRead MoreReflective Report On Negotiation1539 Words   |  7 Pagesthe aforementioned reasons, the results were equivalent to other group outcomes, which reinforced my view that the negotiation had been successful. What impact did cognitive bias have on the negotiation? In hindsight, the confirmation bias played a salient role in the group’s negotiation experience. The confirmation bias is a psychological phenomenon whereby an individual seeks information in their surroundings and interactions that endorse and verify their existing beliefs or opinions. This wasRead MoreDoes Cognitive Bias Influence The Patterns We Exist?1529 Words   |  7 Pagesquestion is to what extent does cognitive bias influence the patterns we see in life? Cognitive bias is defined as pattern of distortion in perception and a deviation from rational decision; irrationality Decision-making, belief and behavioral biases. If a person was to look into human sciences and mathematics as ways of knowing, he or she would determine that cognitive bias is present every time a person sees a pattern. However, they are unable to see the bias for themselves because of the selectivity