Confirmation bias persists across scientists, laypeople, and prejudiced judgment.
Evidence
If someone had reminded him of the curious forgetfulness that put the Army of the Meuse between parentheses, he would have been rather shocked. He never thought of it, that was all, strange as it seemed—and probably he would not have enjoyed exploring his motives. — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 229 (
#exemplifies, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Scientists pursue truth by actively seeking invalidation of their beliefs; People experiencing cognitive dissonance often avoid or reinterpret contradictory information rather than abandoning their beliefs when confronted with truth. — Festinger’s Law; People unconsciously avoid confronting evidence that contradicts their sense of safety — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 229
Related
- Confirmation-seeking bias appears across many domains, not just artificial laboratory tasks. (similarity 0.81)
- Even disconfirmation evidence often fails to break a person’s confirmation bias (similarity 0.81)
- People preferentially seek confirming evidence and avoid testing their own hypotheses. (similarity 0.80)
- Scientists pursue truth by actively seeking invalidation of their beliefs (similarity 0.80)
- Confirmatory filtering operates already at the level of perception and memory. (similarity 0.79)
- Resisting disconfirming evidence only becomes dogmatism after repeated failures (similarity 0.79)
- People unconsciously avoid confronting evidence that contradicts their sense of safety (similarity 0.78)
- Theoretical doubts about objective truth need not override practical reliance on evidence (similarity 0.78)
- People deploy selective perception and motivated reasoning routinely when faced with evidence (similarity 0.78)
- Confirmation bias cements both reputations and habitual trust (similarity 0.78)
- Cognitive biases vary from common mild heuristics to rare deliberate distortions (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- People unconsciously avoid confronting evidence that contradicts their sense of safety
#exemplifies(0.80) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 229