Name: confirmation bias in social judgments
Uploaded: 2020-02-12T11:07:42.000Z
Duration: 1 min 31 s
Channel: JoVE

When approaching a proposition, such as &ldquo;Eating breakfast improves exam scores.&rdquo;, someone may think that they will objectively investigate the topic.

However, as they search for evidence, it&rsquo;s clear to an outsider that they&rsquo;re selectively attending to pieces that support their preconceptions. They have not accumulated any data to argue for alternative hypotheses whatsoever.

As a result, this type of search may falsely validate their prevailing beliefs, without any intention or awareness of being misleading.

Here, the individual has fallen prey to the confirmation bias&mdash;the tendency to seek out or interpret information in a way that confirms an existing belief.

In a different situation, someone else may be particularly motivated to defend an idea&mdash;they want their preconceptions to be true. After all, they&rsquo;ve removed items associated with their previous eating habits and converted to a vegan diet, which, in their mind, will improve their sleep.

Consequently, they may deliberately discount or ignore information that contradicts their preference&hellip;interpret a story to reinforce their personal opinion&hellip;or even ask questions that prompt specific answers. Yet again, this example describes anot

confirmation biases

Confirmation Biases

The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. For example, if you think that your professor is not very nice, you notice all of the instances of rude behavior exhibited by the professor while ignoring the countless pleasant interactions he is involved in on a daily basis. Have you ever fallen prey to the confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias?

Another Example of Social Stereotypes

If an employer expects an openly gay male job applicant to be incompetent, the potential employer might treat the applicant negatively during the interview by engaging in less conversation, making little eye contact, and generally behaving coldly toward the applicant (Hebl, Foster, Mannix, &amp; Dovidio, 2002). In turn, the job applicant will perceive that the potential employer dislikes him, and he will respond by giving shorter responses to interview questions, making less eye contact, and generally disengaging from the interview. After the interview, the employer will reflect on the applicant&rsquo;s behavior, which seemed cold and distant, and the employer will conclude, based on the applicant&rsquo;s poor performance during the interview, that the applicant was in fact incompetent. Thus, the employer&rsquo;s stereotype&mdash;gay men are incompetent and do not make good employees&mdash;is reinforced. Do you think this job applicant is likely to be hired? Treating individuals according to stereotypic beliefs can lead to prejudice and discrimination.

In this scenario, can you pick out the confirmation bias? The employer may not have noticed that the job applicant was friendly and engaging, and that he provided competent responses to the interview questions in the beginning of the interview. Instead, the employer focused on the job applicant&rsquo;s performance in the later part of the interview, after the applicant changed his demeanor and behavior to match the interviewer&rsquo;s negative treatment.

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This text is adapted from <a href="https://cnx.org/contents/Sr8Ev5Og@10.24:Lk3YnvuC@12/7-3-Problem-Solving" target="_blank">OpenStax, Psychology. OpenStax CNX.</a>

The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our ...

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Social Psychology

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Social Judgement and Decision-Making

KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

confirmation bias in social judgments

Confirmation bias in social judgments is the tendency to notice information that supports an existing belief and to ignore information that does not match it. This bias can shape how people judge others, especially when they already expect a certain outcome.

A simple example is a student who thinks a professor is unfriendly. That student may focus on rude moments and overlook the many pleasant interactions the professor has during the day. The result is a one-sided view that seems to prove the original belief.

Confirmation bias can also affect stereotypes and hiring decisions. In one example, an employer expects an openly gay male job applicant to be incompetent. The employer then acts coldly during the interview by speaking less, making little eye contact, and giving the applicant a negative experience.

The applicant responds to that treatment by giving shorter answers, making less eye contact, and seeming more withdrawn. Afterward, the employer notices the applicant’s later behavior and decides the applicant was incompetent. The employer may miss the fact that the applicant was friendly, engaged, and gave competent answers at the start of the interview.

This pattern shows how confirmation bias can reinforce prejudice and discrimination. The interviewer’s stereotype is supported by the biased reading of the interview, even though the applicant’s behavior changed in response to the interviewer’s own treatment. Understanding this bias helps explain how people can misread social situations and strengthen false beliefs.

Confirmation Bias in Social Judgments

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the representativeness heuristic

When Stereotypes Shape Quick Judgments

The representativeness heuristic is a biased way of thinking that can shape quick judgments. It happens when people unintentionally stereotype someone or something based on how well it fits a mental image. For example, you may assume that professors spend their free time reading books and having intellectual conversations. You might not expect them to play volleyball or visit an amusement park, because those activities do not match your stereotype of professors. This text is adapted from...

the anchoring-and-adjustment heuristic

Anchoring Bias in Everyday Decisions

Anchoring bias can shape everyday decisions and problem solving. It happens when you focus too much on one piece of information while making a choice. That first piece of information becomes the anchor. People usually use knowledge and reasoning to make good decisions. Those judgments are often sound. But bias can sway them, and other people can also manipulate the situation. In the example, a realtor may do this by showing only very run-down houses at $1,600 and then a much nicer house at...

Confirmation bias in social judgments is the tendency to notice information that supports an existing belief and to ignore information that does not match it. This bias can shape how people judge others, especially when they already expect a certain outcome. A simple example is a student who thinks a professor is unfriendly. That student may focus on rude moments and overlook the many pleasant interactions the professor has during the day. The result is a one-sided view that seems to prove the...

hindsight biases

Hindsight Bias and Predictability

Hindsight bias is the feeling that an event was predictable after it has already happened. It can make you believe you knew the outcome all along, even when you did not. This bias shapes how people remember events and judge their own earlier predictions. It is often summed up by the phrase “hindsight is 20/20,” which means events can seem clearer after the fact. This text is adapted from OpenStax, Psychology. OpenStax CNX.

framing effects

How Message Framing Shapes Decisions

Message framing shapes how people judge information and make decisions. The same facts can lead to different responses depending on how they are presented. That can mean the wording, the order, or the time frame of the message. One major group is valence framing, which uses positive and negative wording. Levin and colleagues described three forms of this framing. Risky-choice framing, first shown by Tversky and Kahneman, demonstrates that people may choose differently when the same problem is...

key terms and concepts

Learn how confirmation bias shapes social judgments, from noticing only supporting evidence to reinforcing stereotypes during a job interview.

Confirmation Bias in Social Judgments | JoVE K12

JoVE Core Social Psychology offers a comprehensive learning experience on the principles of social behavior through concise, animated video lessons. The series explores key topics such as self-concept, social cognition, group dynamics, stereotypes, and relationships. It provides a structured foundation for understanding human behavior in social situations. Students gain insights into how individuals think, feel, and behave in social contexts while examining the psychological processes that influence interactions and judgments. By integrating theory with real-world applications, these lessons offer a clear and engaging approach to mastering essential concepts in social psychology.

social psychology

Confirmation Bias in Social Judgments

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