What is confirmation bias psychology?

Confirmation bias, as the term is typically used in the psychological literature, connotes the seeking or interpreting of evidence in ways that are partial to existing beliefs, expectations, or a hypothesis in hand.

How does confirmation bias affect our thinking?

Confirmation biases impact how we gather information, but they also influence how we interpret and recall information. For example, people who support or oppose a particular issue will not only seek information to support it, they will also interpret news stories in a way that upholds their existing ideas.

How does confirmation bias affect relationships?

Confirmation bias and negativity bias can make spouses experts at pointing out each other’s failures and flaws. Doing so undermines the foundation for a happy marriage. Happy couples build their marriage on an ever-growing catalog of knowing each other’s likes, dislikes, desires, and dreams.

Do facts get in the way of our opinions?

Even when they are dead wrong, they don’t let actual facts get in the way of their opinions. They fail to realize that there is a big difference between facts on the one hand, and truth, opinion, belief, taste, and preference on the other. Moreover, just because we dislike or disapprove of something does not make it wrong.

Does fact-checking change people’s beliefs?

We also do the same with facts: When confronted with facts we disagree with, we often do not change our perceptions. Past research suggested the possibility that fact-checking could lead to a “ backfire effect ,” causing people to double down and become even more stubborn in their beliefs.

Can a belief or opinion change?

A belief, opinion, taste, or preference cannot: corn tastes better than peas; long hair is more attractive than short hair; biking is more fun than swimming, etc. What’s more, truths and even cherished beliefs change while actual facts tend to remain the same.

What is the difference between a belief and a fact?

So, a belief is an idea that people hold as true. Truth is a notion that people honestly think is correct, and a fact is an idea that has empirical and scientific evidence to support it’s validity, has been proven repeatedly, and for which no compelling, alternative is supported by the available evidence.