The term confirmation bias was first used in the 1960’s by psychologist Peter Wason. He learned the majority of people tend to seek out confirming evidence alone when drawing conclusions. People are only willing to accept new information when it confirms what they already believe. Rejecting any evidence that invalidates their beliefs. It is a cognitive error that causes us to reaffirm what we already believe. Seeking out only the evidence that will reinforce our point of view, we deny or avoid considering contrary evidence or facts. The stronger the belief, the tighter we hold to it. Making it difficult to change, grow and evolve.
For growth to occur, we must replace one belief with another. Confirmation bias makes that a very difficult proposition. We tend to see what we are looking for, even if it’s not there. We become trapped by our assumptions, unable to reassess our perspective.
What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.” — Warren Buffett
Don’t Believe Everything You Think
Confirmation bias is not only an important issue to understand in our personal growth. It is very relevant in society, impacting peoples’ views on social issues such as race, politics, religion, climate change and more. We become trapped. Held hostage to a belief. Unwilling to accept new information, while reinforcing our prejudices. It holds us prisoner. Incapable of making conscious, responsible choices based on accurate information and evidence. “Don’t believe everything you think!”
Bias makes us vulnerable to false claims that confirm what is familiar but may be wrong. It makes us suspicious of others. Believing only the people and news programs that believe like we believe. The result is intense polarization. All of us living in echo chambers that reverberate confirming information and mute everything else. When someone offers up a differing opinion on our social media account we tell them to go troll someone else. Have you noticed how the MSM can take the same story and spin it two completely different directions. People that identify with Fox become ill after just a few minutes of watching CNN. They quickly switch channels, so their beliefs are not challenged. We have no use for real debate anymore, preferring the comfort of our echo chamber.
Chamber of Horrors
The echo chamber can become a chamber of horrors, stunting your growth and trapping you in your long held beliefs. Humility is not a virtue that is celebrated much today, but the world would be a better place if it was. When you try to eliminate confirmation bias, it is guaranteed that your ego will put up a fight. Humility is an important quality in today’s world. The internet and social media are full of information and opinions; we often just share or quote someone else without challenging their point of view. Think for yourself, do not depend on what people are telling you. Do the research, question everything and then question it again. Understand that some questions just don’t have answers, at least in this moment.
“If you believe in peace, act peacefully; if you believe in love, act lovingly; if you believe every which way, then act every which way, that’s perfectly valid – but don’t go out trying to sell your beliefs to the system. You end up contradicting what you profess to believe in, and you set a bum example. If you want to change the world, change yourself.” ― Tom Robbins
Fake News
The propaganda artists in the media are experts at using confirmation bias to influence the news. You can be vigilant with fact-checking and genuinely listen to those who disagree (not in our nature), or you can turn it off entirely. I have dramatically reduced my news intake, especially from MSM sources that have a biased agenda. In the era of fake news, it’s the only way we’ll make it out of our echo chambers alive.