Topic > Psychologists' Views on Confirmation Bias

A confirmation bias is an individual's tendency to filter out information that is in line with their existing beliefs and ideas. It's a trap that most of us fall into unknowingly. Even when evidence comes before us that contradicts our views, we may still modify it to conform to our biased view. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Why do we struggle to accept information that differs from our perspective? According to research by Jennifer Lerner and Philip Tetlock, we avoid contradictory evidence because we cannot accept the fact that we are wrong, and so we choose to ignore it. Additionally, we tend to see more evidence that aligns with our perspective, having greater exposure to what we choose to believe. Some find that constantly evaluating our opinions is tiring, and it is much better to focus on a vision rather than on it. rather than considering multiple views at the same time. Traveling abroad is becoming or perhaps already is a norm for everyone. Then comes the question: which airline to fly with? From my personal experience, I have the impression that if a certain airline has won more awards (P), it is because travelers have had positive experiences and given it good reviews (Q). But if I were to bluntly take people at their word and only see them in a positive light, I might be disappointed the moment I encounter an undesirable experience. To avoid falling into the trap of confirmation bias, I tend to look at the negative side of the story (-Q). The example above illustrates my tendency to fall into confirmation bias if I only saw all the positive reviews of the airline. Therefore, it is appropriate not only to view the negative reviews, but also to pay attention to the quality and content of each review and see if it is realistic and if it concerns me, thus disconfirming the biased opinion. I also believe that confirmation bias and pseudoscience are similar. According to the lesson summary, pseudoscientists have developed their own strong opinions about certain facts and tend to look for data that confirms their beliefs and ignore conflicting evidence. In my other forum post, I mentioned how I was curious about Feng Shui and my feeling that it might be an example of pseudoscience. I also believe that belief in Feng Shui is another example of how people fall into confirmation bias. Most Feng Shui believers hire "masters" to advise them on how to best harness the "Qi" of their surroundings to achieve their goals. Because they pay a lot of money and what these "masters" say makes sense to them, they tend to believe in Feng Shui, thus falling into confirmation bias. Furthermore, if their life became more positive, they would believe in Feng Shui even more and ignore any evidence that conflicts with the authenticity of Feng Shui. However, according to Popper, the best method for determining the authenticity of our hypothesis is whether our theory is falsifiable. In the example above, the best way to falsify the "Feng Shui does not exist" hypothesis is to find evidence of Feng Shui. However, there is no proof of the existence of Feng Shui and it is not possible to falsify the above hypothesis. According to environmental psychologists who have analyzed Feng Shui, they have concluded that there is no evidence that Feng Shui principles have measurable effects on humans. Furthermore, there is no evidence of the existence of "Qi" and without "Qi", there is no Feng Shui. Please note: this is just an example. Get a personalized document from us now.