Latest Issue of the MindBrainEd Think Tank + (ISSN 2434-1002) 4 MindBrained Bulletin Think Tank Conf Bias Apr 20 | Page 6

Think Tank:
Confirmation Bias
Bo Bennett (starring in our intro video)
How confirmation bias works in the real world
The confirmation bias applies to how we seek, interpret, and remember information.
When we want to believe something, we tend to only seek evidence that confirms our
desired belief and ignore the rest. When we do come across disconfirming evidence,
we are more likely to dismiss the evidence and not critically evaluate it (Nickerson,
1998). If two people have the same information, the information is generally
interpreted in such a way that supports one's existing beliefs (Lord, Ross, & Lepper,
1979). People who seek and interpret information critically and systematically,
without bias, can still later recall the information selectively based on existing beliefs
(Hamilton, 2005).
Example #1: Joe's friend told him that the moon landings were actually a
Hollywood stunt and did not really happen. Joe was skeptical of this claim, and
proceeded to Google "moon landing hoax." Google returned over half a million
results with all kinds of pictures, testimonials, videos, and unedited recordings
providing evidence of the fake moon landings. After a few hours, Joe was convinced
that the moon landings were a hoax given the evidence he uncovered.
What Joe failed to do was follow one of the most important rules of critical thinking
and scientific methodology—look for disconfirming evidence that would prove his
hypothesis (i.e., that the moon landings were fake) incorrect. Googling "moon
landing evidence" turns up over six and a half million results—including high
quality primary sources such as NASA, as opposed to "Billy Bob's Internet House of
Conspiracy Theories."