BLOG POST #7 CONFIRMATION BIAS - INTERNAL BIAS - REAL WORLD IMPLICATIONS

    Do you ever think about the tendency to look up information that fits your beliefs, rather than searching for the real answer? Confirmation bias fits this exact description. Assume someone is researching the ideal camera; they use Sony cameras and think that they are the best. They implicitly add “Sony” as one of the keyword terms, and I avoid making the term generalized. This directly impacts the results, as the search engine is biased towards your search term. This extends to decision-making and beliefs too. While it is hard to ignore the facts, you have a mental process that filters out “unwanted” information that goes against your existing beliefs.

   A negative effect of confirmation bias is the implications on real-world outcomes. One example is in medicine. Per Britannica, “Doctors often have a preliminary hunch regarding the diagnosis of a medical condition early in the treatment process.” It further states that this hunch can lead to biased assessments, and that doctors may believe that an alternative diagnosis is present. This, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. In real-life scenarios, people have to rely on proven judgement; it is paramount to seek external advice outside of your practice and to weigh all options. While professionals are certainly guilty of this bias, we are too. 

There are downsides to confirmation bias in every facet of life. When a couple is in love, the partner will often set expectations based on how other couples behave. While this is a normal thought process, it doesn’t mean it’s correct. What makes this habit dangerous is that it is silent, thus making it impossible to understand one another’s feelings without explicitly asking. It can slowly ruin a relationship, or it could instantly put someone’s life in jeopardy. 

    

    While some people may be ignorant of this theory, I have to admit my guilt. I am constantly filtering out messages that don’t align with my views. Whether this is through social media or real life, confirmation bias may seem subtle, but once it takes over mental judgment, things that have had importance will soon be ignored. When you fall into an advertisement trap, it is extremely difficult to see another product as of equal value, even if the non-advertised product is more sensible. Once you set eyes on a product or an important conclusion, it is crucial to seek opinions from those not tied to that decision. 

    

   Confirmation bias, however, is not necessarily negative. It is perfectly reasonable to think that a decision can be unintentional while being acceptable. Think about it: to find the answer to a question, you need more than just the truth. Without an opinion, there will be no questions that could be answered, thus making truth itself an unanswerable fact. This is the key to understanding the shortcoming of a given theory. It is simply a theory, and not an answer to living life.