CONFIRMATION BIAS

This is an interesting one, because it's one of those concepts that people recognize instantly once they see it—but often don't recognize in themselves.

Have you ever noticed how easily we find evidence for what we already believe?It can be about almost anything. Let's say you have an opinion about someone. Then you hear a story about them that confirms your opinion.

First reaction: “See? I knew it!”

Later,  someone tells you something that contradicts your view. Suddenly there are questions about the validity of their story. “Are you sure that's what happened? What's the context? Maybe there's another explanation...”

Our standards for evidence can change depending on whether the evidence agrees with what we already believe.

That's confirmation bias.

Let's dig deeper...

What, exactly, is it?

So to define it: Confirmation bias is our tendency to notice, interpret, seek out, and remember information in ways that support beliefs or expectations we already have. It doesn't necessarily mean we're deliberately ignoring the truth. That's what makes it so sneaky.

Our brains are constantly trying to make sense of an enormous amount of information. Existing beliefs give us a framework for interpreting what we encounter as we go through our daily lives. Once we have a conclusion though,  information that fits can feel especially meaningful. So our reaction can be, “Ah.  There it is.” Information that doesn't fit may require more examination before we're willing to accept it.

🧠 The Weird Part

You can be completely sincere while doing it. You don't have to lie or manipulate anyone. You don't even have to realize you're doing it. You can genuinely believe you're simply looking at the facts. Meanwhile, your brain may be giving some of those facts a warmer welcome than others.

Interestingly, confirmation bias doesn't only influence what we believe. It can influence what we notice in the first place, because once you expect something, you're more likely to spot information that fits the expectation. Which means the evidence you collect can begin to look like independent confirmation of your original belief. A little feedback loop can develop:

Belief → attention → interpretation → supporting evidence → stronger belief.

And now the belief feels even more obviously true.

🐇 The Rabbit Hole

Here's where Confirmation Bias gets uncomfortable: What happens when the belief we're protecting isn't about politics, religion, or some controversial subject? What if it's about ourselves?

Examples: 

• “I'm terrible at relationships.”

• “Nobody really likes me.”

• “People always take advantage of me.”

• “I'm just an unlucky person.”

• “My partner doesn't respect me.”

• “I'm the only one who sees what's really happening.”

Once we develop a story about ourselves or another person, we can start collecting evidence for it without realizing we're doing it, and because the evidence is real, the conclusion can feel completely justified. But that's the trap.

The question isn't, “Can I find evidence that I'm right?” You probably can, if you hunt for it.  The better question is, “What evidence would make me reconsider my belief?” That's a much harder question.

The Truth Check

Try reversing the experiment. When you feel certain that you've figured something out, deliberately ask:

•  What information am I overlooking?

• What evidence would contradict my interpretation?

• Am I applying the same standard of evidence to information I disagree with?

• And perhaps the most uncomfortable one: If I wanted to prove myself wrong, where would I look?

Being willing to examine evidence that threatens our conclusions is one of the ways we protect ourselves from becoming prisoners of our own assumptions. The next time you catch yourself thinking,See? I knew it. Stop. Ask yourself, What else could explain this?You wouldn't necessarily be doing this because your conclusion is wrong. You might not be wrong.  You'd be doing it because being willing to test your conclusion is how you find out if you're trapped in a "Confirmation Bias."

Here's the fascinating thing about Confirmation Bias: Sometimes the thing standing between us and the truth isn't a lack of information. It's the story we've already decided the information is telling us.

Isn't it just a blast, being human?

With love,

Ziana.

There's a name for that?

You've probably noticed some of these behaviours. You just may not have known what to call them.

Curious about the psychology behind the things we do?

Author • CLC • CBT Practitioner

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