Confirmation Bias- Its Human Nature

Who doesn't like to prove themselves right???

One can think of confirmation bias being what they would see through binoculars. Binoculars zoom in onto one small area that the person using them wants to see. This is kind of like confirmation bias. With this type of bias, a person will only listen to and let themselves see the facts and information that agrees with their preexisting beliefs.

This theory is centered around being able to prove ourselves right and prove to ourselves and others that what we believe and say is true.  This happens through people ignoring important opposing information. Everyone likes to be right, that is why people tend to only acknowledge the information that backs up their beliefs. Being right and seeing proof of our beliefs leads to self-fulfillment and that is a good feeling that many people wouldn't mind. 

Unfortunately, confirmation bias can be misleading. It causes people trust their feelings without many facts to back them up and it can lead to people sharing false information. Many conclusions people come to in research can become inaccurate and sometimes unethical. This can happen due to the way someone poses a question in their google search or looks for information on particular sites. The information that comes up in the search is going to feed into the person's beliefs. This problem that people unconsciously do can be combated by actively looking into opposing sides of beliefs and seeing all the possibilities of a situation. For example, if a conservative always watches Fox, their opinions are going to be further confirmed as they are choosing to watch a channel that contributes to their beliefs. If they wanted to test the truth and fact behind their belief they could try to watch or read CNN or a different more neutral news source. 

While there doesn't seem to be many great things to be said about confirmation bias, it has been known to build confidence. By seeing pieces information that build and strengthen opinions, people's self-esteem will build allowing them to be more confident. Not only is self-esteem built, but it allows people to sort through and process large amounts of information quickly. Confirmation bias is great because it allows stress levels to remain lower. If a person had to try and create a new opinion for every single idea that had conflict their mind would be filled with psychological stress. Not only are there pros and cons of confirmation bias, but there are also different groups of people it actually affects. 

Confirmation bias affects almost everyone in society because people are naturally going to want to find information that supports their beliefs. It is human nature. The only group the bias might not affect is younger children who haven’t yet formed opinions and beliefs. Instead of finding information that supports their stance, they are learning what their stance is based on the information they are exposed to. Confirmation bias can be seen in everyday life, from politics, to what is considered healthy, to what the latest trends in fashion are. Your confirmation bias is shaped by where and how you grew up, everyone's bias is going to be slightly different because everyone's beliefs and options are slightly different.