Confirmation Bias

Wrong Again: Why Experts' Predictions Fail, Especially About the Future

Michael Shermer | Posted 03.05.2012

Read More: Election Predictions, Elections 2012, The Future, Predictions, Confirmation Bias, Paul Samuelson, Foresight, Science News
Michael Shermer

As 2012 unfolds, most notably with predictions about political elections, beware of the experts. For the most part, these experts are no better than dart-throwing chimps.

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Denial of Facts Is No Way to Understand Science

James Hoggan | Posted 02.06.2012

Read More: Climate Science, Fraser Institute, Margaret Wente, Globe and Mail, Koch Industries, Climate Change, Climategate, Confirmation Bias, Motivated Reasoning, Green News
James Hoggan

There was a time when I couldn't understand what motivated writers like Margaret Wente to stand so firmly against such clear and solid science. The psychology of "confirmation bias" has provided the answer for me.

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Are We as a Culture on a Mean Streak? Do We Reason Just To Win?

Kathleen Reardon | Posted 08.22.2011

Read More: Charity, Reason, Meanness, Kindness, Political Polarization, Mean Streak, Confirmation Bias, Media Bias, Civility, Truth, Culture, Politics News
Kathleen Reardon

Critical argument in the U.S. media is no longer about seeking truth to correct or sustain our formative values; rather it is about winning so that others might lose. How do we find a way back?

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"Who Do You Trust?" Poll Results

Jim Lichtman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Alan Colmes, Jamie O?Boyle, Bill O?Reilly, Trust, Rush Limbaugh, Rachel Maddow, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Ethics, Glenn Beck, Arianna Huffington, Keith Olbermann, The Center for Cultural Studies and Analysis, Confirmation Bias, Chris Matthews, Media News
Jim Lichtman

When it comes to the political talking heads crowding the media platform, who, if any, do we trust the most and the least? Are the facts important or is it all just entertainment?

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Why Do Smart People Make Dumb Decisions?

Dr. Ali Binazir | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Ali Binazir, Overconfidence Bias, Decision Enhancement, Cognitive Biases, Fundamental Attribution Error, Confirmation Bias, Availability Bias, Sunk Cost Fallacy, Sunk Costs, Availability Heuristic, The Balanced Life, Healthy Living News
Dr. Ali Binazir

Psychologists who've studied our decision-making processes have observed cognitive biases that tend to get us in trouble. These biases don't make you a bad person, they just make you human.

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Christian Belief Through the Lens of Cognitive Science: Part 5.5 of 6

Valerie Tarico | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Christian Belief, Psychology of Religion, Cognitive Science, Confirmation Bias, Psychology of Belief, Healthy Living News
Valerie Tarico

All of us are biased to seek information that fits what we already believe. Confirmatory evidence jumps out at us, and we find it emotionally appealing.

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