By: Christopher C. Duke, PhD Even if you are not a psychologist,
you have probably heard of confirmation bias. Whether you have
heard of it or not, you have most certainly seen it and engaged
in it. Confirmation bias is the very human tendency to seek out
information that confirms our existing world views rather than
challenges them. Likewise, we tend to interpret ambiguous
evidence as supporting our views (Balcetis & Dunning, 2006). We
all know people who have strong political views on particular
topics. Are they likely to read and watch material that supports
their views, or opposes their views? What about ourselves? We
tend to think of ourselves as rational and logical judges of the
world around us, but this is often not the case. Confirmation
bias is well illustrated in the following quote (courtesy of You
Are Not So Smart) from Terry Pratchett’s The Truth. “Be careful.
People like to be told what they already know. Remember that.
They get uncomfortable when you tell them new things. New
things…well, new