Confirmation Bias Essay
Imagine that you have tried to reach a friend (with whom you have an ambivalent relationship) by phone (or email), leaving messages, yet have not received a call in return. In situation like this, it is easy to jump to conclusions in an intuitive manner that your friend wants to avoid you. The danger, of course, is that you leave this belief unchecked and start to act as though it were true.
Confirmation bias occurs from the direct influence of desire on beliefs. When people would like a certain idea/concept to be true, they end up believing it to be true. They are motivated by wishful thinking. This error leads the individual to stop gathering information when the evidence gathered so far confirms the views (prejudices) one would like to …show more content…
For example, a person with low self-esteem is highly sensitive to being ignored by other people, and they constantly monitor for signs that people might not like them. Thus, if you are worried that someone is annoyed with you, you are biased toward all the negative information about that person acts toward you. You interpret neutral behavior as indicative of something really negative.
Wishful thinking is a form of self-deception, such as false optimism. For example, we often deceive ourselves, such as stating just this one; it’s not that fattening; I’ll stop smoking tomorrow. Or, when someone is “under the influence” he feels confident that he can drive safely even after three or more glasses.
Self-deception can be like a drug, numbing you from harsh reality, or turning a blind eye to the tough matter for gathering evidence and thinking. As Voltaire commented long ago, “Illusion is the first of all pleasure.” In some cases self-deception is good for us. For example, for dealing with certain illnesses having positive thinking may actually be beneficial such as cancer, but not diabetes or ulcer. There is a limited evidence that believing that you will recover help reduce the level of stress hormones, giving the immune system and modern medicine a better chance to do their
Confirmation bias occurs from the direct influence of desire on beliefs. When people would like a certain idea/concept to be true, they end up believing it to be true. They are motivated by wishful thinking. This error leads the individual to stop gathering information when the evidence gathered so far confirms the views (prejudices) one would like to …show more content…
For example, a person with low self-esteem is highly sensitive to being ignored by other people, and they constantly monitor for signs that people might not like them. Thus, if you are worried that someone is annoyed with you, you are biased toward all the negative information about that person acts toward you. You interpret neutral behavior as indicative of something really negative.
Wishful thinking is a form of self-deception, such as false optimism. For example, we often deceive ourselves, such as stating just this one; it’s not that fattening; I’ll stop smoking tomorrow. Or, when someone is “under the influence” he feels confident that he can drive safely even after three or more glasses.
Self-deception can be like a drug, numbing you from harsh reality, or turning a blind eye to the tough matter for gathering evidence and thinking. As Voltaire commented long ago, “Illusion is the first of all pleasure.” In some cases self-deception is good for us. For example, for dealing with certain illnesses having positive thinking may actually be beneficial such as cancer, but not diabetes or ulcer. There is a limited evidence that believing that you will recover help reduce the level of stress hormones, giving the immune system and modern medicine a better chance to do their