Confirmation Bias Research Paper

Words: 1292
Pages: 6

How Misinformation in Confirmation Bias Ruins Every Conversation While having a disagreement or an argument with someone, the natural instinct is to look for evidence that will support your stance on the matter. This is called confirmation bias. This is the reason why many conversations are ruined. People look for evidence that backs up their statements because we want to look smarter than we are. When evidence that we find online matches our stance, we use that to back us up, oftentimes, without checking if it’s reliable information. People also tend to be ignorant of the opposing party, which leads them to find information no matter if it’s reliable or not. For example, when presented with statistics that dismiss their argument, people tend …show more content…
This can be attained by broadening where we get information from and having multiple sources. Looking deeper into the information we receive can help us factor out the possibility of bias. Another solution to confirmation bias is to have a peer review of that information. For example, if you’re writing a paper and need sources to back up your thesis, the best way to have unbiased information is to make sure that it is peer reviewed and if it’s not, you can have an expert or educated individual look over it and make sure it is credible. Fortunately, confirmation bias isn’t hard to tackle, but people need to open their minds up to other possibilities. Even though confirmation bias has been proven harmful, people believe that confirmation bias can actually be good. When writing a paper, looking for information and deciding whether it’s reliable or not can cause it to go on for a long period of time. According to the article, “Confirmation Bias: What It Is and Why It’s Important,” written by Dayva Segal, she states, “Some people believe that confirmation bias helps you sort efficiently through the large amount of information you see.” This explains why confirmation bias can be a good thing for people writing a …show more content…
Another reason why confirmation bias can be good is because it reduces the risk of mental distress. According to Segal, she states that holding multiple opposing pieces of evidence can cause psychological stress. People may be experiencing stress for various reasons, so having a way to reduce the stress, they will use it. While these things can be true for some people, it can lead to being an unreliable person. It might be true that confirmation bias cuts time and makes going through information faster and more efficient, I would suggest otherwise. Over time, using confirmation bias will become a habit. Sadly, the more a person is affected by confirmation bias, the less likely they are to listen to any sort of critical thought, or opposing view. Since confirmation bias brings confidence to a person and they like the feeling, they are more than likely going to continue using confirmation bias, which can lead to the spread of misinformation. The feeling of confidence is nice, but the matter of fact is that the spread of misinformation can be