Today in class, during our second round of EOTOs, I got to learn a lot about all the different pieces that can create false information. The topic I found the most interesting was confirmation bias.
Confirmation bias is the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories. It was first identified by Peter Wason in 1960, who asked participants in his study to guess a rule about triplets. He found that his participants guessed rules that would have confirmed their beliefs.
With confirmation bias, you make involuntary assumptions, don't seek out facts, only remember details that uphold your belief, ignore information that challenges your ideas, and interpret information to support your opinion.
Confirmation bias can be dangerous because it can make people strongly support false beliefs. In relationships, one person can strongly believe something is true. Even when there is evidence that they have false facts, they won't change their mind.
Find this topic so interesting because I see it happen to my friends and family and me. For example, I have gotten into fights with my mom because we both had our own opinion about something because we perceived what we thought was the truth. When trying to get the other person to see it your way, you solidify your belief even more.
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