When a belief shapes the evidence we notice
A page of product reviews can become a search for reasons to trust a choice you already favor. Confirmation bias describes a tendency to favor information that fits an existing belief. The question is how to recognize that pattern while still judging evidence on its quality.
Questions you could explore
- How might a belief influence which evidence someone seeks or notices?
- How does evidence quality affect whether a belief should change?
Start reading
- OpenStax, Rice University7.3 Problem Solving
A short textbook explanation of confirmation bias, with an everyday example in the section on problem-solving pitfalls.
- SAGE Journals (publisher record); University of Florida (PDF host)On the failure to eliminate hypotheses in a conceptual task
Wason’s 1960 study of how psychology undergraduates tested a number rule, available as a university-hosted PDF.
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