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The tendency to look for information in a way that supports one’s prior beliefs or values, and ignoring contrary or using ambiguous evidence.
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This arises due to how our brains use heuristics to quickly prove our beliefs. Another reason is that we perceive this bias as protecting our self-esteem by protecting us from false beliefs we tie to our identity.
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This can manifest as:
- Biased searching for information (i.e., to confirm hypotheses)
- Biased interpretation of information
- Biased memory recall of information
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Backfire Effect - maintaining a belief despite information that firmly contradicts it. There are three subtypes based on where they stem from
- Familiarity Backfire - from making myths more familiar
- Overkill Backfire - from providing too many arguments
- Worldview Backfire - from providing evidence that threatens someone’s worldview.
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Congruence Bias - testing a hypothesis directly rather than testing possible alternatives. Thus, people rarely try experiments that can disprove their initial belief, rather they try to repeat their initial results.
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Observer’s Bias - the tendency to certify data that meet expectations and to disbelieve data that contradicts those expectations.
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Observer Expectancy Effect - when a researcher expects a given result and thus unconsciously manipulates an experiment to find it. The presence of a researcher can influence the behavior of participants in their study.
- It arises due to demand characteristics, subtle cues given by the researcher to the participants about the nature of the study.
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Selective Perception - the tendency to perceive what one wants to perceive while ignoring opposing viewpoints.
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Semmelweis Reflex - the reflexive tendency to reject new evidence or new knowledge because it contradicts established norms, beliefs, or paradigms.