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Confirmation Bias
Definition
Confirmation bias refers to processing information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with one's existing beliefs. This biased approach to decision making is largely unintentional and often results in ignoring inconsistent information. Existing beliefs can include one's expectations in a given situation and predictions about a particular outcome. People are especially likely to process information to support their own beliefs when the issue is highly important or self-relevant.
Background and History
The confirmation bias is one example of how humans sometimes process information in an illogical, biased manner. Many factors of which people are unaware can influence information processing. Philosophers note that humans have difficulty processing information in a rational, unbiased manner once they have developed an opinion about the issue. Humans are better ...
- Action Control
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- Influence
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- Illusory Correlation
- Ingroup-Outgroup Bias
- Integrative Complexity
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- Mental Accounting
- Mere Ownership Effect
- Naive Cynicism
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- Omission Neglect
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- Brainwashing
- Close Relationships
- Collective Self
- Contingencies of Self-Worth
- Deindividuation
- Downward Social Comparison
- Ego Shock
- Egocentric Bias
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- Exemplification
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- Identity Crisis
- Illusion of Control
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- Impression Management
- Independent Self-Construals
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- Introspection
- Looking-Glass Self
- Mental Control
- Mere Ownership Effect
- Misattribution of Arousal
- Moral Development
- Mortality Salience
- Name Letter Effect
- Objectification Theory
- Optimal Distinctiveness Theory
- Overjustification Effect
- Personal Space
- Phenomenal Self
- Positive Illusions
- Procrastination
- Projection
- Psychological Entitlement
- Reactance
- Regulatory Focus Theory
- Roles and Role Theory
- Schemas
- Self
- Self-Affirmation Theory
- Self-Attribution Process
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Categorization Theory
- Self-Complexity
- Self-Concept
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- Self-Control Measures
- Self-Deception
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- Self-Determination Theory
- Self-Disclosure
- Self-Discrepancy Theory
- Self-Efficacy
- Self-Enhancement
- Self-Esteem
- Self-Esteem Stability
- Self-Evaluation Maintenance
- Self-Expansion Theory
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
- Self-Handicapping
- Self-Monitoring
- Self-Perception Theory
- Self-Presentation
- Self-Promotion
- Self-Reference Effect
- Self-Regulation
- Self-Reports
- Self-Serving Bias
- Self-Stereotyping
- Self-Verification Theory
- Social Comparison
- Social Identity Theory
- Spotlight Effect
- Stigma
- Symbolic Self-Completion
- Terror Management Theory
- Threatened Egotism Theory of Aggression
- Uniqueness
- Value Priorities
- Zeal
- Social Cognition
- Accessibility
- Accountability
- Action Identification Theory
- Actor–Observer Asymmetries
- Adaptive Unconscious
- Alcohol Myopia Effect
- Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic
- Assimilation Processes
- Associative Networks
- Attention
- Attribution Theory
- Attributional Ambiguity
- Attributions
- Automatic Processes
- Availability Heuristic
- Bad Is Stronger Than Good
- Barnum Effect
- Base Rate Fallacy
- Basking in Reflected Glory (BIRGing)
- Belief Perseverance
- Blaming the Victim
- Central Traits Versus Peripheral Traits
- Confirmation Bias
- Consciousness
- Contrast Effects
- Controlled Processes
- Correspondence Bias
- Correspondent Inference Theory
- Counterfactual Thinking
- Creativity
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- Debiasing
- Defensive Attribution
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- Diagnosticity
- Dilution Effect
- Discounting, in Attribution
- Distinctiveness, in Attribution
- Downward Social Comparison
- Dual Process Theories
- Egocentric Bias
- Emotional Intelligence
- Encoding
- Excuse
- Expectancy Effects
- Expectations
- Eyewitness Testimony, Accuracy of
- False Consciousness
- False Consensus Effect
- False Uniqueness Bias
- Focalism
- Fundamental Attribution Error
- Gain–Loss Framing
- Gambler's Fallacy
- Halo Effect
- Heuristic Processing
- Heuristic-Systematic Model of Persuasion
- Hostile Attribution Bias
- Hostile Media Bias
- Hot Hand Effect
- Illusory Correlation
- Implicit Personality Theory
- Inference
- Integrative Complexity
- Interpersonal Cognition
- Justice Motive
- Just-World Hypothesis
- Kelley's Covariation Model
- Lay Epistemics
- Lowballing
- Matching Hypothesis
- Meaning Maintenance Model
- Memory
- Metacognition
- Mimicry
- Mind-Wandering
- Misattribution of Arousal
- Moral Emotions
- Moral Reasoning
- Motivated Cognition
- Motivated Reasoning
- MUM Effect
- Nonconscious Processes
- Norms, Prescriptive and Descriptive
- Omission Neglect
- Person Perception
- Personality Judgments, Accuracy of
- Person-Positivity Heuristic
- Positive–Negative Asymmetry
- Primacy Effect, Attribution
- Primacy Effect, Memory
- Priming
- Projection
- Prototypes
- Recency Effect
- Responsibility Attribution
- Risk Appraisal
- Salience
- Satisficing
- Schemas
- Scripts
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
- Self-Reference Effect
- Self-Serving Bias
- Self-Verification Theory
- Shifting Standards
- Similarity-Attraction Effect
- Social Categorization
- Social Cognition
- Social Cognitive Neuroscience
- Social Comparison
- Social Impact Theory
- Social Projection
- Spontaneous Trait Inferences
- Spreading of Alternatives
- Subliminal Perception
- Subtyping
- Symbolic Interactionism
- Theory of Mind
- Thin Slices of Behavior
- Three-Dimensional Model of Attribution
- Transactive Memory
- Value Pluralism Model
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