Confirmation Bias: Why people fall for stupid shit

 

Confirmation bias is a cognitive bias that refers to the tendency of individuals to favour information that confirms their preexisting beliefs or values while ignoring or discounting information that contradicts those beliefs or values. In other words, people often seek out, interpret, and remember information in a way that supports their existing viewpoints or expectations, and they tend to dismiss or downplay information that challenges those viewpoints.

Confirmation bias can lead to several cognitive and decision-making errors, including:

Selective exposure: People are more likely to seek out information and sources that align with their existing beliefs. For example, a person with a particular political ideology might primarily consume news from sources that share that ideology.

Selective perception: People tend to interpret information in a way that confirms their existing beliefs. They may emphasize information that supports their viewpoint and downplay or reinterpret information that contradicts it.

Selective retention: People often remember information that supports their beliefs more accurately and vividly than information that challenges them. This can reinforce their existing biases over time.

Belief perseverance: Even when presented with strong evidence that contradicts their beliefs, individuals may cling to those beliefs and dismiss the contrary evidence. This is known as belief perseverance.

Confirmation bias can have significant implications in various aspects of life, including decision-making, problem-solving, and interpersonal relationships. It can hinder people from critically evaluating information and can contribute to polarization, misunderstandings, and the perpetuation of false or biased beliefs.

Recognizing and actively trying to mitigate confirmation bias is important for making more rational and informed decisions and for fostering open-mindedness and intellectual honesty. It involves consciously seeking out diverse perspectives, critically evaluating information, and being open to changing one's beliefs in the face of compelling evidence.