What Confirmation Bias Teaches Us About Human Psychology

Confirmation bias is the cognitive tendency to seek, interpret, and remember information that confirms previous beliefs, while at the same time ignoring contradictory evidence. In this way, the unconscious process reinforces previously established views, thereby affecting decision-making and influencing perception, often to inaccurate conclusions.  This article unravels confirmation bias, its indicators and types, as well as its consequences,  and will also provide strategies to counteract it. 

What is Confirmation Bias? 

Confirmation bias is the tendency to favour information that agrees with your opinions and discredit opposing evidence. This process is unconscious and very deep-seated in human cognition, especially about emotionally charged or personally meaningful subjects. Although it provides psychological comfort by confirming existing worldviews, it could blur judgment and impair the critical use of reason. The phenomenon was formally studied by cognitive psychologist Peter Wason in the 1960s. His experiments, for example, the rule discovery task demonstrated that people selectively seek information that reinforces their perspectives, even when leading to incorrect conclusions. 

Read More: The Unconscious Mind, and its Relation to Mental Health

History  

One of the earliest classical examples of confirmatory bias is the 1960 experiment by Peter Watson. Watson’s task was to describe the rule underlying a series of numbers such as 2, 4, and 6. The correct rule- that the numbers were increasing by 2 (i.e., the sequence increased in steps of 2)-was not correct: most participants would find a “rule”  that fits the series. In reality, most participants focused their experiments on confirming their hypotheses-most notably, the increase by 3 of which each picked number sets that confirmed those beliefs rather than trying to disprove it by testing contradictory sequences.

Although they were wrong, the participants became more confident in their hypotheses,  thus demonstrating how confirmation bias can make people reinforce mistaken beliefs rather than critically analyze evidence. The term “confirmation bias” itself was coined in a 1977 study by Mynatt, Doherty, and Tweney, which further explored how people tend to seek information that confirms their preexisting beliefs and ignore or distort information that contradicts them. 

Types of Confirmation Bias

• Biased Search for Information: Actively seeking data that supports an individual’s beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence. A global warming sceptic, for example, may consume only information that denies climate change consensus in the scientific community. 
• Biased Interpretation: Evidence is interpreted in line with beliefs that already exist, even if it seems neutral or even contradictory. A person who believes that some health remedy works will interpret inconclusive research as conclusive proof of its effectiveness. 
• Biased Recall: People remember instances that support their belief but forget counterexamples. For example, a person who believes in superstitions can vividly recall when his belief seemed validated but forget the instances that disproved him. 

Read More: What is Attribute bias? Let’s know about its theories and types

Effects of Confirmation Bias 

It influences both decision-making and the furthering of existing divides  in several ways: 

• Attitude Polarization: Individuals with differing perspectives interpret the same evidence selectively, thereby increasing their level of disagreement; the debate over gun control often increases divides as each side finds “proof” to back its stance.
• Belief Perseverance: People usually hold onto initial beliefs even in the face of conflicting evidence. A conspiracy theorist might call facts opposing their theories as part of the conspiracy. 
• Irrational Primacy Effect: People’s first experiences and perceptions about a subject matter are simply too influential for subsequent events to alter. For instance, initial impressions of a person tend to determine all later experiences. 
• Illusory Correlation: It can create an illusory connection among unrelated events. For example, the conviction that a lucky charm enhances performance strengthens the belief even though there is no causal relation. 

Read More: The Role of Peer Pressure in Shaping Perceptions

Examples of Confirmation Bias 

1. Learning: Students researching will focus on sources that confirm their hypothesis, but ignore studies that disconfirm it. 
2. Health: Individuals often use anecdotal evidence about alternative therapies but do not consider the scientific research against their effectiveness. 
3. Politics: Political debates offer a strong example of confirmation bias when individuals selectively interpret news reports or data to support their ideology. 
4. Friendships: A bad impression made about someone can make one focus on the person’s shortcomings and overlook their good things, thus making the judgment unfair. 

Read More: What is the ‘Social Drift’ Hypothesis?

Combatting Confirmation Bias 

Although it is a natural aspect of cognition, it may be combated through  conscious effort and thinking critically:

• Question Assumptions: Regularly reflect on whether your beliefs are evidence-based or shaped by bias. 
• Focus on Facts: Prioritize objective and reliable evidence over personal anecdotes or emotionally driven narratives. Avoid cherry-picking data to fit your perspective. 
• Accept Ambiguity: Beliefs are subject to revision based on new evidence. An individual with a willingness to change is demonstrating maturity rather than weakness. 
• Seek Diverse Perspectives: Actively explore viewpoints that challenge your beliefs,  even if they feel uncomfortable. Engaging with diverse ideas broadens understanding and reduces the influence of echo chambers. 

Read More: How Brain Rot is silently ruining our lives: A Psychological Perspective

Conclusion 

It is a ubiquitous cognitive bias that guides how people process information and make decisions. Whenever there is selective favouritism of evidence for existing belief, chances are that falsehoods are continued and growth opportunities are missed. Now, recognizing that there are signs and types of confirmation bias is the first step toward more balanced thinking. This is through critical reflection on diversity, an openness to making your assumptions wrong, and challenging those very same assumptions to come closer to reality than by only confirming that which agrees with your thinking.