Confirmation Bias

November 2024

• Nov 14, 2024ConceptsConfirmation Bias: Why We Find What We're Looking ForIn 1960, Peter Wason showed subjects the sequence 2-4-6 and told them it followed a rule. To discover the rule, they proposed triples. Almost universally, subjects proposed triples that fit their hypothesis, such as 4-6-8, 10-12-14, and almost never proposed triples that could disprove it. The rule was simply 'any ascending sequence.' Confirmation bias: the systematic tendency to search for, favor, and remember information that confirms what we already believe.26 MIN4.0k

October 2023

• Oct 8, 2023ConceptsWhy First Impressions Are Hard to ChangeThe science of first impressions: Asch's primacy effect, thin-slicing accuracy, the halo effect, confirmation bias, and how to actually reset a...14 MIN6.0k

December 2022

• Dec 22, 2022ConceptsUnderstanding Confirmation Bias in Decision-MakingConfirmation bias explained: the Wason selection task, why it evolved, how it shapes politics, investing, and science, and proven strategies to...20 MIN5.4k