Confirmation Bias
noun /ˌkɒnfəˈmeɪʃən ˈbaɪəs/ — The mind's tendency to find what it already believes.
Definition
The tendency to search for, interpret, and favor information that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values.
Beyond the definition
One of the most well-documented biases in human cognition — and one of the hardest to recognize in yourself. We are all prosecutors of a case we've already decided. Understanding this doesn't make you immune; it makes you slightly more suspicious of your own certainties.
Origin & history
Coined by English psychologist Peter Wason in 1960 during his famous card selection experiment.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
Confirmation bias explained why she only noticed the data that supported her thesis.
The comment section is a machine for generating confirmation bias.
Knowing about confirmation bias is the first step; escaping it is another matter.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Confirmation Bias” when the meaning fits your context: The tendency to search for, interpret, and favor information that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values.
Synonyms
motivated reasoning, selective attention, wishful thinking
Antonyms
open-mindedness, objectivity
Related words
Confirmation Bias vs cherry picking
Confirmation bias is a subconscious mental tendency to seek out information that supports existing beliefs. Cherry picking is an intentional, deliberate act of selecting only evidence that proves a point while ignoring contradictory data.
Word in the Wild
Illustrative story: an imagined scene, not a documented event or interview.
The study showed participants two identical sets of data about gun control and asked them to evaluate the quality of the research. Participants who supported gun control rated the pro-control study as more rigorous. Those who opposed it rated the opposite study as more rigorous.
They weren't lying. They were doing what human minds do naturally: finding the evidence that confirms what they already believe.
Both groups, when shown the results, concluded that the other group had been subject to confirmation bias. The researchers published this finding as a second study.
Questions about this word
What does "Confirmation Bias" mean?
Confirmation Bias is noun meaning: The mind's tendency to find what it already believes.. The tendency to search for, interpret, and favor information that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values.
Which words express “pride that creates its own downfall”?
Confirmation Bias — The mind's tendency to find what it already believes.
Where does the word "Confirmation Bias" come from?
Coined by English psychologist Peter Wason in 1960 during his famous card selection experiment.