Concept
Confirmation bias
Your favourite explanation should not get an easier exam.
When it fits
- Use it when a decision rests on an explanation you already prefer.
When to avoid it
- Keeping the same conclusion after strong evidence is not confirmation bias. The label describes a pattern in evidence handling, not disagreement itself.
The idea
Confirmation bias is broader than reading agreeable news. A belief can shape what you search for, which evidence you notice, and how hard you try to explain away inconvenient results. The useful move is not to collect an equal pile of opposing opinions. Give plausible alternatives the same test.
An example
A team blames slow imports on the network. One slow connection is treated as proof, while normal connections are dismissed without checking file size or another cause.
Check your result
What result would make you weaken the current explanation? Have you looked for that result with the same effort and evidence standard you used for supporting evidence?
Keep this limit in mind
- Keeping the same conclusion after strong evidence is not confirmation bias. The label describes a pattern in evidence handling, not disagreement itself.
- Do not use a bias label to diagnose or discredit a person.
Evidence and sources
Confirmation bias includes seeking or interpreting evidence in ways that favor an existing belief or hypothesis.
Supports only the scoped description; does not test the corpus procedure.
Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises · Publisher abstract and review description
All sources (1)
- Confirmation Bias: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon in Many Guises — Raymond S. Nickerson