Breaking Down Biases - 1

Have you ever had your judgement interfered by something you just can’t explain? If you’ve ever had a mental block when making decisions or taking a stance on an opinion, you’ve most likely encountered the world of cognitive biases. Cognitive biases are errors in your judgement or way of thinking, they’re like shortcuts that arise from social influences, emotions, limited information, among many other things. Within “Breaking Down Biases” we will explore different cognitive biases and how they play into everyday lives. 

Would you believe a piece of new information if it aligned with your belief system or something you already know to be true? You may fall victim to the “confirmation bias” if you would be more inclined to process new information as “true” solely based on your existing beliefs and knowledge. In other words, the confirmation bias is the implicit tendency to focus on evidence that fits into already existing beliefs.

The confirmation bias can occur when someone retains and mentions previous information in a new setting and uses their already existing information to combat contradicting evidence. This is commonly seen in politics, diagnostics, personal relationships, and even science. It can be seen as easier to come to a conclusion when you have evidence that seemingly supports your theory, however, if this evidence is rooted in the confirmation bias, you may need to check your facts.

This bias can have countless effects on our lives, however, the most notable effect is the quality of decision making that follows this bias. This bias distorts reality, which is where we draw concrete evidence from. Impressions are also deeply affected by this bias. When meeting new people or learning about someone in a relationship, you may view them with a positive regard if they’ve behaved in a way that aligns with your already existing beliefs on them. The same can be applied to a negative regard, but this bias tends to play into homophily, which is the tendency to seek out like-minded or similar people. Applying the confirmation bias to relationships can come across as “close-minded” as you usually only accept your belief of someone, which can lead to staying in relationships and or forming relationships that have no reciprocated benefits.

Why does this happen though? There must be ways to avoid it, right? Our brains like to use shortcuts, especially when it comes to seeking evidence. It’s natural to want to take the short route, however, this can distort your perceptions and overall decision making, so it's best to avoid. Being selective is a major contributor to this bias—through selective exposure (limiting information where the viewer will avoid contradiction), selective perception (when someone is met with a contradictory belief and then try and input it into their existing belief), and selective retention (where someone is more likely to play into a marketing pitch if the information has been consistent or true). These shortcuts are known as heuristics, they can help validate emotions and make our lives seemingly easier. No one would like to be proven wrong, so the confirmation bias truly fits into that–why wouldn’t you want to assume you’re right? Groupthink has seen this bias more than most other settings. Groupthink is the concept of people in a group aiming towards cohesion and this often leads to conformity. So yes, this bias can occur in settings outside of your own individual thought process. The best way to avoid this bias is to inherently trust your own feelings first, your first thoughts are likely the most unfiltered ones. You can also help avoid this by going into situations with a neutral standpoint, this avoids instant swaying. Another way is to specifically look for a cognitive bias once you’ve come to a decision.

While this bias is difficult to avoid, it can be manageable with their right mindset and strategies. Humanity will almost always prefer exists that coincide with their own, but one of the most important parts of avoiding this bias is understanding how to enter situations with complete neutrality. This bias can occur and sway your opinions quickly, so work backwards to understand how you were swayed.

Confirmation bias - the Decision lab. (n.d.). The Decision Lab. https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/confirmation-bias