Confirmation bias is like a silent companion that accompanies us through our daily lives. It can be observed in various situations, from choosing what news to read to forming opinions about people or ideas. In decision making, confirmation bias often leads us to seek out information that aligns with our initial judgments, creating a tunnel vision that limits our ability to see the full picture. Let’s take a look at what confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance are and how they affect our decision making. We will also look at how confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance play out in various settings.
What is Confirmation Bias?
Confirmation bias is a common human tendency that affects the way we process information and make decisions. It refers to our inclination to favour information that confirms our pre-existing beliefs or values, while ignoring or dismissing evidence that contradicts them. This cognitive bias plays a significant role in decision making, shaping our choices and influencing our perceptions of the world around us.
Cognitive Dissonance
Confirmation bias often goes hand-in-hand with cognitive dissonance, a psychological phenomenon where individuals experience discomfort when faced with conflicting beliefs or attitudes. To alleviate this discomfort, people tend to lean even further into their existing beliefs, reinforcing the impact of confirmation bias. In decision making, this can lead to a cycle of selectively seeking and interpreting information that validates our choices, while avoiding or rationalising anything that challenges them.
Example of Cognitive Dissonance:
Imagine you have two beliefs or thoughts that don’t quite agree with each other. This disagreement creates a feeling of discomfort in your mind. For example, let’s say you know smoking is bad for your health, but you continue to smoke. This conflict between knowing it’s harmful and still engaging in the behavior is cognitive dissonance.
To reduce this discomfort, your mind might take one of several paths: You might decide to quit smoking to align with the belief that it’s harmful, or you might downplay the risks of smoking to make it fit with your behavior. The main idea is that your mind seeks consistency between what you believe and what you do. Cognitive dissonance theory helps explain how people try to make sense of conflicting thoughts and bring them into harmony to reduce the uneasy feeling in their minds.
Confirmation Bias and Cognitive Dissonance Difference
Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out, interpret, and remember information that supports one’s existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence.
Cognitive dissonance refers to the mental discomfort experienced when holding two or more conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes, leading individuals to change their beliefs or rationalise their behaviour to reduce the discomfort.
Confirmation Bias in Decision Making
When it comes to decision making, confirmation bias can have profound consequences. Confirmation bias in decision making is when you tend to favour information that supports your existing beliefs or choices, while ignoring or downplaying evidence that contradicts them. It means focusing on things that confirm what you already think, sometimes making it harder to make fair and objective decisions.
Picture this: you’re faced with a critical choice, whether it’s related to your career, relationships, or personal goals. Your brain, influenced by confirmation bias, instinctively leans towards information that supports your existing preferences or beliefs.
For instance, if you’re contemplating a job change, confirmation bias in decision making might lead you to focus on the positive aspects of the new opportunity, such as a higher salary or a shorter commute. You may inadvertently downplay potential drawbacks, such as a less favourable work-life balance or a less collaborative team environment. This selective attention to information that aligns with your initial inclination can cloud your judgment and hinder you from making an informed decision.
Examples of Confirmation Bias in Decision Making
Confirmation bias in a workplace or business setting:
Imagine there’s a manager, Sarah, who has a strong belief that employees who arrive early at the office are more productive. She tends to notice and remember instances where early arrivers complete their tasks efficiently and contribute positively to the team.
Now, Sarah has a new team member, Alex, who often arrives at the office a bit later and has embraced 4 day work week, but consistently produces high-quality work. However, because of Sarah’s confirmation bias, she may unconsciously downplay or overlook Alex’s achievements and focus more on instances that confirm her belief about the importance of 5 day a week employees and early arrivals.
So, during performance evaluations, Sarah might give higher ratings and more positive feedback to employees who align with her belief (those who work 5 days and those who arrive early), while unintentionally undervaluing the contributions of those, like Alex, who don’t fit this preconceived notion.
In this scenario, confirmation bias affects the way Sarah perceives her team’s productivity, potentially leading to biased decisions about promotions, raises, or recognition based on the days of work and the timing of arrival rather than the actual quality of work. Perhaps people work smarter not harder. It showcases how confirmation bias can influence workplace judgments, affecting both individual career paths and overall team dynamics.
Confirmation Bias in Politics:
In the political arena, confirmation bias can be a formidable force, subtly guiding us toward information that aligns with our preexisting political leanings while encouraging us to dismiss opposing viewpoints.
This bias can create echo chambers, where individuals surround themselves with like-minded people and consume news sources that reinforce their existing beliefs.
In the world of politics, confirmation bias in decision making is particularly potent, as it can lead to the polarization of opinions and hinder constructive dialogue.
Consider a scenario where two individuals, each with different political affiliations, watch the same news story. The person with conservative views might be inclined to focus on elements that validate their conservative perspective, while the liberal viewer may emphasize details supporting their liberal stance.
In this way, confirmation bias deepens political divisions, making it challenging for people to find common ground or engage in productive discussions.
Confirmation Bias and Racial & Gender Discrimination:
Confirmation bias doesn’t stop at politics; it extends its reach into issues of race and ethnicity. This bias can manifest in various ways, influencing our perceptions, judgments, and interactions with individuals from different genders or racial backgrounds. In decision making related to gender or racial issues, confirmation bias often leads us to interpret information in a way that aligns with our existing stereotypes or prejudices, perpetuating harmful narratives. The gender pay gap is a good example of gender discrimination. That men still get paid more than women to do the same job is astounding. Throw intersectionality into this mix and it wreaks havoc.
Imagine witnessing an incident where two individuals from different racial backgrounds are involved in a dispute. Confirmation bias might cause someone to interpret the situation through the lens of their pre-existing beliefs about those racial groups. This can result in the biased processing of information, leading to unfair judgments and reinforcing stereotypes.
Confirmation Bias and Social Media
In the age of social media, confirmation bias in decision making is amplified. People tend to follow and engage with content that aligns with their existing beliefs. This creates echo chambers where individuals are exposed to a narrow range of perspectives. Social media algorithms can also contribute to this by showing users content that reinforces their preferences. This further solidifies their existing beliefs.
Confirmation Bias in HealthCare and Wellness
When seeking information about health and wellness, confirmation bias can impact decision making. Individuals may be more inclined to trust and accept information that supports their existing health beliefs, whether it’s related to diet, exercise, or alternative medicine. This bias can hinder the adoption of evidence-based practices and lead to suboptimal health choices.
Confirmation Bias in Legal & Judicial Decision Making
Confirmation bias can play a role in legal and judicial settings. Judges, jurors, and legal professionals may interpret evidence and witness testimonies in a way that aligns with their initial beliefs about a case. This bias can influence legal decisions and impact the fairness of the legal system.
Confirmation Bias in Education
In educational settings, confirmation bias can affect both students and educators. Let’s take at a look at some examples:
Interpretation of Historical Events:
Teachers, driven by their personal beliefs and cultural backgrounds, may interpret historical events in a way that aligns with their perspectives. This can lead to a skewed representation of historical facts, emphasizing certain aspects while downplaying or omitting others. Students may then be exposed to a biased narrative that does not provide a comprehensive understanding of the past.
Selective Inclusion of Historical Figures:
Confirmation bias can also manifest in the selection of historical figures included in the curriculum. Teachers may be inclined to highlight individuals who align with their own beliefs or cultural heritage. This can potentially neglect the contributions of other important figures. This can result in a distorted view of history, reinforcing existing biases.
Omission of Uncomfortable Truths:
Teachers influenced by confirmation bias may be tempted to omit or downplay historical events that challenge their beliefs or make their cultural or political affiliations uncomfortable. This omission can lead to a sanitized version of history that fails to acknowledge the complexities and nuances of past events.
Impact on Students’ Perspectives:
When teachers present history through the lens of their own biases, students may absorb these perspectives. They then can potentially form incomplete or skewed understandings of historical events. This can influence students’ own beliefs, perpetuating a cycle of confirmation bias that extends to future generations.
Distortion of Political History:
Confirmation bias can be particularly pronounced when it comes to teaching political history. Teachers may unintentionally present a one-sided view of political events. They can often frame them in a way that supports their own political beliefs. This can contribute to the polarization of political ideologies among students.
The danger lies in the potential alteration of the course of history. When educators unconsciously allow their biases to shape the way history is taught, they risk perpetuating a narrow and subjective version of the past. This not only hinders students’ ability to form well-rounded perspectives but also undermines the objective pursuit of historical truth.
Overcoming Confirmation Bias in Education Sector
Addressing this issue requires a commitment to objectivity, critical thinking, and a willingness to explore diverse historical perspectives. Teachers should be mindful of their biases. They should engage in ongoing professional development, and strive to present a balanced and comprehensive view of history. This encourages students to think critically and form their own informed opinions.
An education system that actively counters confirmation bias in historical teaching, promotes a more accurate and nuanced understanding of the past.
Overcoming Confirmation Bias:
Recognising the presence of confirmation bias is the first step towards mitigating its impact on decision making. Developing self-awareness and actively seeking out diverse perspectives can help break the cycle of selective information processing. Active listening is an important part of emotional intelligence. When making decisions, deliberately consider opposing viewpoints and weigh the evidence objectively. Look at facts and data (but ensure you understand the difference between facts and opinions). This approach can lead to more well-rounded decisions that take into account a broader range of information.
Conclusion
Recognising the presence of confirmation bias in these various areas is crucial for making more informed and objective decisions. Developing awareness, seeking diverse perspectives, and actively challenging our own biases can help mitigate the impact of confirmation bias in decision making in different aspects of our lives.
