Confirmation Bias (Part 2)
Murder Your Darlings
We are forced to establish beliefs about the world, our lives, the economy, investments, our careers and more. We deal mostly in assumptions and the more nebulous these are, the stronger the confirmation bias.
Confirmation bias simply filter disconfirming evidence ( evidence to the contrary )
Religious and philosophical beliefs represent an excellent breeding ground for the confirmation bias.
Counter arguments are dismissed by the faithful, demonstrating just how powerful the confirmation bias is.
No professionals suffer more from the confirmation bias than business journalists. Often, they formulate an easy theory, pad it out with two or three pieces of ‘evidence’ and call it a day.
Self-help and get-rich-quick books are further examples of blinkered storytelling.
The Internet is particulary fertile ground for the confirmation bias. To stay informed, we browse news sites and blogs, forgetting that our favoured pages mirror our existing values, be they liberal, conservative or somewhere in between.
We inevitably land in communities of like-minded people, further reinforcing our convictions - and the confirmation bias.
How to fight against Confirmation bias?
Try writing down your beliefs - whether in terms of worldview, investments, marriage, healthcare, diet, career strategies - and set out to find disconfirming evidence. Axeing beliefs that feel like old friends is hard word, but imperateve.
See also
- Introspection Illusion
- Salience Effect
- Cognitive Dissonance
- Forer Effect
- News Illusion