No one is immune from falling into the trap of evaluating a position or an argument using Confirmation Bias as a default lens. I’ll let one thinker phrase it better than I:
“It is a
problem that affects everyone. All of
us are prone to confirmation biases, and we all should constantly check our
views to make sure that we are following facts and logic rather than following
what we want to be true. We need to carefully consider evidence rather than
blindly latching onto the things that fit our mental narratives. Perhaps most
importantly, we should always consider the possibility that we are wrong. Being
willing to be wrong is (in my opinion) the only way to break the circle of
ignorance. Unless you are actually willing to be wrong, you will never be able
to accept evidence that is contrary to your beliefs, and it is important that
you are capable
of doing that.”
Below are
six devious and shameless ways liars and hustlers actively use or take
advantage of Confirmation Bas to influence and retain their followers and/or
the public.
Get There First
Liars and
hustlers love the irrational primacy
effect – If they can get to you first with their bogus claims, they know
they stand a good chance of you continuing to believe them, even in the face of
compelling contrary evidence. The victim immediately uses Confirmation Bias to
evade solid facts in favor of web sites and gurus that conform to his/her newly
formed and unsubstantiated opinions.
For example,
someone knows nothing about GMOs and accidentally comes upon a web site or
Facebook group that spells out the horrors of GMOs. If he or she believes what
they are being told without evaluating the points for the obvious safety of
GMOs, then any future information on the subject is seen through the lens of
their first impression. Another example is a homeopathy believer taking a pill with
no active ingredients and only looking for any physical improvements no matter
how small, and disregarding any lack of effect. Typical Confirmation Bias is
unconsciously employed.
Tufts
University’s Raymond S. Nickerson, researcher in Cognitive Science and
Cognitive Psychology, gives a good summary:
“When a person must draw a
conclusion on the basis of information acquired and integrated over time, the
information acquired early in the process is likely to carry more weight than
that acquired later …… People often form an opinion early in the process and
then evaluate subsequently acquired information in a way that is partial to
that. Francis Bacon (1620/1939) observed this tendency centuries ago: ‘the
first conclusion colors and brings into conformity with itself all that come
after’."
Get Them Into Groups
Liars and
hustlers know once they have their targets in the right social groups, ongoing
deception is all too easy. Public health advocate and medical journal author Sara
E. Gorman, PHD and science author and researcher Jack M. Gorman, MD. write on groups
and emotional arousal contributing to Confirmation Bias:
“In his book, Social
Networks and Popular Understanding of Science and Health, Brian G.
Southwell explores many of the ways in which group membership strengthens an
individual’s tendency to adhere to confirmation bias. He points to extensive
research showing that when people are provoked to a heightened emotional state they
are more likely to share information. When that state is an unpleasant one,
like fear or anger, emotionally aroused people come together to seek comfort
from each other. ‘Much of the discussion we seek with others in moments of
elevated emotion,’ Southwell writes, ‘is not necessarily focused on new factual
information sharing as much as it is focused on reassurance, coping with
stress, and ritualistic bonding’ …… Strong evidence shows that people are more
prone to believe what they are told whenever they are in such a state, whether
it is a positive or negative one. That is, regardless of whether we are
deliriously happy or morbidly sad, we are likely to believe what we are being
told.”
Get
Them When They’re Worn Down
Liars and hustlers know people are often fatigued from the
stresses of everyday life. This makes them vulnerable to almost any pitch,
whether evidence based or not. Sara E. Gorman, PHD and Jack M. Gorman, MD.,
write:
“Moreover, as Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues have shown
through extensive research, the more tired and depleted we are, the more prone
we are to relying on easier sources to make decisions and therefore committing
confirmation biases. The human brain is an incredible energy-consuming organ,
burning glucose for fuel at a higher rate than any other part of the body. When
we are tired, hungry, depressed or distracted, it is harder to spend the energy
and therefore our mental processes default to the easiest method of reaching a
decision. This usually means employing only limbic, or System 1, parts of the
brain and therefore leaving us prone to committing errors by using shortcuts
like Confirmation Bias.”
Give
Them A Dopamine Rush
Liars and hustlers are pros at gifting their targets with a great
feeling in order to prime them into accepting what they are being told. Once
the product or service is associated with that wonderful feeling, Confirmation
Bias flows like the free-flowing Mississippi. Sara E. Gorman, PHD and Jack M.
Gorman, MD., write:
“There is a ‘reward’ pathway in the brain that runs from a
structure in the brainstem called the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to one deep
in the lower part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens ….. The pathway
releases the neurotransmitter dopamine whenever we (or almost any animal)
anticipates or experiences a rewarding or pleasurable stimulus……
“Confirmation Bias is a part of the way the human brain
naturally works. Indeed, we are rewarded for using Confirmation Bias by the
powerful actions of dopamine in the pleasure centers of our brains. In other
words, it feels good to ‘stick to our guns’ even if we are wrong. When understood
in terms of human brain physiology in this way, getting a person to even
momentarily shun what she believes in order to attend carefully to potentially
disconfirming evidence requires some guarantee that the risk of doing so will
produce a reward at least equal to the one she will get by succumbing to
confirmation bias.”
Source
Sara E. Gorman, PHD and Jack M. Gorman, MD, Denying To The
Grave: Why We Ignore The Facts That Will Save Us, Oxford University
Press, 2017
Get Them At Their Smugness and
Conceit
Liars and
hustlers have the most massive egos in the world, and they know almost everyone
else has an ego almost as big as theirs. Once the target has been influenced
fully or even to a small degree, the ego is there to prevent most from thinking
they could actually be wrong. Confirmation Bias then takes over. Pride is the
blind spot that makes even a saint stumble. In 1897 Russian novelist Leo
Tolstoy wrote:
“I know that
most men—not only those considered clever, but even those who are very clever,
and capable of understanding most difficult scientific, mathematical, or
philosophic problems—can very seldom discern even the simplest and most obvious
truth if it be such as to oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions they
have formed, perhaps with much difficulty—conclusions of which they are proud,
which they have taught to others, and on which they have built their lives.”
Get Them At Their Discomfort Levels
Liars and
hustlers probably have never heard of the term “cognitive dissonance”, but they
utilize the psychological term with unrestrained enthusiasm. Anti-vaccine and
naturopathy advocates, for example, cannot handle the mental stress experienced
when (and if) confronted with overwhelming contrary evidence. Such evidence is
avoided at all costs and supportive people and web sites are actively sought. Pseudo-health
gurus like Mike Adams (Natural News), Joe Mercola and Gwyneth Paltrow enjoy
basking in the knowledge that their snake oil remedies face very little
cognitive resistance in the minds of their followers. A basic definition
conveys why people resort to Confirmation Bias when things get uncomfortable:
“In the
field of psychology, ‘cognitive
dissonance’ is the mental discomfort (psychological stress) experienced
by a person who simultaneously holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas,
or values. The occurrence of cognitive dissonance is a consequence of a person
performing an action that contradicts personal beliefs, ideals, and values; and
also occurs when confronted with new information that contradicts said beliefs,
ideals, and values.
“In A
Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (1957), Leon Festinger proposed that human
beings strive for internal psychological consistency in order to mentally
function in the real world. A person who experiences internal inconsistency
tends to become psychologically uncomfortable, and is motivated to reduce the
cognitive dissonance. This is done by making changes to justify their stressful
behavior, either by adding new parts to the cognition causing the psychological
dissonance, or by actively avoiding social situations and/or contradictory
information likely to increase the magnitude of the cognitive dissonance.”
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Photo: https://wundtslab.com/2017/04/19/the-problem-with-cognitive-biases/
Jerry De Luca is a Christian freelance writer who loves perusing dozens of interesting and informative publications. When he finds any useful info he summarizes it, taking the main points, and creates a (hopefully) helpful blog post.
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