What is confirmation bias?

Confirmation bias is simply a fancy way of saying that people tend to see what they want to, more often than they think.

Here’s a simple example.

You and a friend are arguing about whether fiscal policy works or not.

Both of you have known yourselves to be correct about this issue since college. You gather your facts, she does the same. Finally, you compare your findings. You show each other studies and graphs for an hour. Did either one of you convince the other?

Of course not.

We tend to lean on that which confirms what we already believe – and tune out the rest.

You are likely worse at this than you think.

You do it reading the news, talking at work, browsing on social media, and texting with friends.

Understand: A common worldview is a difficult thing.

This is what psychologists call confirmation bias: When you have a preference, you seek out information supporting it, while overlooking information that challenges it.

-Adam Grant, Originals