confirmation bias

[ kon-fer-mey-shuhn bahy-uhs ]

noun

, Psychology.

1. bias that results from the tendency to process and analyze information in such a way that it supports one’s preexisting ideas and convictions: Unfortunately, their experimental method was proven invalid due to confirmation bias.

   Confirmation bias is a major issue when we get all our news from social media sites.

   Unfortunately, their experimental method was proven invalid due to confirmation bias.

Word History and Origins

Origin of confirmation bias¹

Coined in 1960 by English psychologist Peter Wason

Example Sentences

This is dangerous, as it turns your feed into a fertile ground for misinformation and confirmation bias, so it’s important to try to counter it.

From Popular-Science

However, he observes, “If you’re confident, then your brain shows a really strong confirmation bias.”

From Science News For Students

Combining findings from several studies that examine the same topic in different ways can give a better picture of how confirmation bias works, she says.

From Science News For Students

Our brains are very susceptible to what is known as confirmation bias, he says.

From Science News For Students

Because emotions don’t get involved, this task is a great way to assess confirmation bias, says Kaplan, who was not involved in the study.

From Science News For Students

“This research suggests that confirmation bias operates in encounters of short duration,” he wrote.

From The Daily Beast

This sort of sustained engagement can short-circuit racially triggered instances of the confirmation bias, wrote Dobbin.

From The Daily Beast

And, of course, all sides in this conflict suffer from a degree of confirmation bias.

From The Daily Beast

That Tobin keeps reiterating it anyway suggests a deep confirmation bias.

From The Daily Beast

Charles Johnson explains how tech, confirmation bias, and media laziness are complicating the issue.

From The Daily Beast