Confirmation Bias EOTO

Confirmation Bias

Consider a time when you attempted to contact a friend with whom you disagree and left messages but never received a response. In this situation, it's easy to tell right away that your friend is avoiding you. Naturally, if you do not investigate this belief, you run the risk of acting as though it were true. When desires directly influence beliefs, confirmation bias occurs. People end up believing something because they want it to be true. They gain energy by getting what they want. When the evidence that has been gathered thus far supports the views or prejudices that the individual would like to be true, this error causes the individual to stop collecting information. 

We disregard or reject information that challenges our views once we have formed them and accept information that supports them. The idea that we don't see things objectively is known as confirmation bias. Because they support our preconceived notions, we decide to concentrate on the data points that make us happy. We run the risk of giving in to our preconceived notions as a result. For instance, there will always be some people who have a strong tendency to dismiss any claims that marijuana may cause harm as nothing more than old-fashioned reefer mania. These people will do this regardless of the evidence. Despite the evidence, these individuals will act accordingly. These individuals will carry it out despite the evidence. The evidence will guide these individuals' actions. These individuals will carry it out despite the evidence. The evidence will be utilized by these individuals. Any evidence that marijuana does not harm people will be ignored by some social conservatives.

Examples of Confirmation Bias

Politics,

In politics, which is naturally divided, changing voting patterns is notoriously difficult. For instance, states in the United States are typically referred to as Red or Blue based on whether Democrats or Republicans control them. The majority of states remain that way for many years. Continually, the majority of individuals support political causes. Even though some swing voters are more open to new candidates, they will always vote one way. However, confirmation bias means that they are in the minority. Confirmation bias is evident in what people watch. For instance, Republican voters typically support right-leaning media outlets like CNN and Fox News. CNN's opposing viewpoints are naturally rejected because they don't fit with the beliefs that are already held. For the same reasons, Democrats frequently prefer CNN. Politicians also exhibit confirmation bias. As a result of confirmation bias, they rarely deviate from their positions. Over one hundred members of Congress, for instance, have rejected the idea that humans are to blame for climate change. The majority of new evidence is immediately rejected because it contradicts existing beliefs, the evidence. Rent control, for instance, is yet another sphere of politics. Even though most economists agree that they are bad, which is remarkable in and of itself, many politicians on the left think that they work.

Eyewitness Accounts,

In the criminal justice system, eyewitness accounts are beginning to be replaced by DNA and other more precise forms of evidence. Consequently, DNA evidence vindicates numerous wrongfully convicted individuals. Eye accounts are frequently regarded as difficult. We rarely recall specific details and are susceptible to being influenced by a variety of factors. One of them is confirmation bias. For instance, witnesses to homicides may be able to identify the offender through observation. Problems arise because the perpetrator and the witness are siblings. The witness, on the other hand, has no idea how their brother or sister could have acted in such a way. They don't like the idea because they think they won't be able to. It cannot be true. Despite the rejection of new information, the existing belief is maintained.

Religion,

Religious people will be biased in favor of the beliefs they already hold. Unexpected events constitute a miracle. On the other hand, a disaster is just a test of faith. Both want to back up a belief that already exists. There are, on the other hand, individuals who practice no religion at all. A marvel does not demonstrate a higher power; rather, it is simply regarded as a one-of-a-kind event. In a similar vein, catastrophes that result in the deaths of thousands of people, such as hurricanes and tsunamis, are viewed as evidence that there is no God. Believers and nonbelievers alike frequently use events as justifications for existing beliefs. Regardless of whether the events in question are positive or negative, they adopt a position that is in line with these beliefs.

Social Media,

Fake news has spread rapidly thanks to social media. Information and news articles that reinforce preexisting beliefs are shared by a lot of people. To grab readers' attention, catchy headlines frequently make unsubstantiated claims. Even though some news articles claim to include facts, they only present biased viewpoints that align with the reader's own. In turn, claims that do not match what people already believe are referred to as factual because they lack evidence to support them. As a result, such news spreads across platforms and gains traction as millions of people's preexisting beliefs are confirmed.

Positives and Negatives of Confirmation Bias

Positives,

You've probably encountered this phenomenon if you've ever attempted to persuade a Mac user to try a PC or a PC user to switch to a Mac. Confirmation bias is the idea that once people start to identify with a brand, they will never be able to switch brands. What is taking place? It's because they associate a part of themselves or the person they aspire to be with the said brand. Marketing to their ideal selves, regardless of the dissonance that occurs between their actions and beliefs, can help cement that connection if a person identifies as an outdoorsy person and purchases shoes, jackets, and backpacks from REI. Even if the individual has never kayaked or hiked before, this holds. By explaining to potential customers the problems they are experiencing and the solutions we offer, we can lessen both of these aspects of marketing that are referred to as confirmation bias. On the other hand, there are aspects of confirmation bias in marketing that we ought to be aware of in the work that we do every day.

Negatives,

The most recent Netflix documentary, The Great Hack, claims that social media marketing's confirmation bias played a significant role in the 2016 election. Using psychological profiles that people had created using a lot of data from social media, Cambridge Analytica grouped people based on their beliefs and demographics and showed them ads that made people think better of other people. The objective was to create an echo chamber on social media that reflected individuals preexisting prejudices against opposers. The strategy used confirmation bias to further divide the two sides. In addition to being aware of their tendencies to seek predictable feedback, advertisers need to consider the moral implications of employing this strategy as a deterrent. The only way to deal with confirmation bias is to explicitly acknowledge its existence because it is ingrained in all of us.