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Confirmation Bias and Making Life Choices
Confirmation bias
Is the human tendency to seek, interpret and remember information that confirms pre-existing beliefs.
It affects every choice you make and it all happens in the background without you noticing.
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Confirmation bias
Is the human tendency to seek, interpret and remember information that confirms pre-existing beliefs.
It affects every choice you make and it all happens in the background without you noticing.
Confirmation bias affects you in 3 ways:
- How you seek information - how you look at the world around you
- How you interpret the information in front of you - the information you process tends to favour your beliefs
- How you remember things - you interpret and possibly even change memories and facts in your head based on your beliefs
Being wrong and self-image
You seek evidence that confirms your beliefs because being wrong feels unpleasant.
Being wrong means you’re not as smart as you thought. So you end up seeking information that confirms what you already know.
Processing contradictory information
When it comes to information to process, it takes effort to hold opposing hypotheses and try to evaluate evidence for and against each one.
So your brain optimizes for the fastest shortcut to a solution. And it’s easier to look for things that support your current belief.
Instinctive reactions
To fight back against cognitive biases, you need to evaluate your instinctive reactions.
The next time you run across facts that completely confirm your worldview, stop. Think about the assumptions you’re making and look for ways to prove yourself wrong.
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