Fake News

Photo: Clay Bennett, Christian Science Monitor, 2006

According to Lange et al. (2021), confirmation bias is an individual’s reluctance to accept new evidence that does not correspond with their existing beliefs. At face value it is a self-defense mechanism to preserve knowledge already attained as indisputable fact. Opinions and facts should change over time with the inclusion of new evidence or scientific understandings.

Our understanding of the world and our views are shaped not only by our educational experiences, but our interactions with others in our community, life experiences, and information search history. It is important to recognize that experiences differ from community to community and that scientific evidence can change over time to reflect new knowledge. We should always be open to alternative views while being skeptical.

Alex Edmans, a Professor of Finance at London Business School, explains the concepts of confirmation bias very well in this Ted Talk:

Lange, R.D., Chattoraj, A.; Beck, J.M., Yates, J.L., & Haefner, R.M. (2021). A confirmation bias in perceptual decision-making due to hierarchical approximate inference. PLOS Computational Biology, 17(11), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009517