Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is the tendency to favor information that supports what you already believe. It shapes what you search for, how you judge evidence, and what you remember. Recognizing it helps you test beliefs more fairly.

When evidence that agrees with you feels stronger than evidence that does not.

What It Means

Confirmation bias makes supporting evidence feel immediately convincing while conflicting evidence receives extra scrutiny or is overlooked.

This uneven evaluation can strengthen inaccurate beliefs and make alternative explanations harder to consider.

Common Signals

You mainly search for sources that already agree with your position.
You demand stronger proof from opposing claims than from supporting ones.
You recall confirming examples more easily than credible counterexamples.
You dismiss conflicting evidence as biased, irrelevant, or exceptional.

How to Respond

Decide in advance what evidence would genuinely change your mind.
Seek the strongest credible counterargument, not the easiest one to reject.
Compare supporting and conflicting evidence using the same quality standards.