[ThinkBetter](https://thinkbetter.app/) → [Cognitive Biases](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases.md) → Confirmation Bias

# Confirmation Bias

People tend to favor information that confirms their preexisting beliefs or hypotheses.

![Confirmation Bias illustration](https://assets.thinkbetter.app/images/confirmation_bias.png)

Confirmation bias is a cognitive bias that causes individuals to seek out, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms their preconceptions or hypotheses, regardless of whether the information is true. This occurs because the brain prefers consistency in its beliefs and feels discomfort, or cognitive dissonance, when confronted with contradictory information. The term was coined by psychologist Peter Wason in the 1960s during his experiments demonstrating how people avoid testing hypotheses dispassionately. In everyday life, this bias can lead to decision-making based on incomplete information or false facts, as people might ignore or discredit information that contradicts their views.

## Example

**Research and Development Projects**

A project team might ignore new research findings that contradict the effectiveness of their current project, continuing to use outdated practices. Why? The team's desire to believe in the project's success blinds them to potentially crucial information that suggests a need for change.

## In your professional life

**Seek Out Challenging Information**

Actively seek out information that challenges your ideas or proposals to strengthen your arguments or identify potential flaws. For instance, if you’re a marketing analyst, look for data or feedback that contradicts your current strategies. This helps you refine your proposals and address any weaknesses before presenting them.

## Go deeper in ThinkBetter

The ThinkBetter app has the full Confirmation Bias deep-dive: more examples, a quiz to test yourself, audio narration, and a weekly path that builds these ideas into a habit.

- iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6459831884
- Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.ventureship.braintricks

### Related concepts

- [The Ben Franklin Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/ben-franklin-effect.md)
- [The False Consensus Effect](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/false-consensus-effect.md)
- [Hindsight Bias](https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/hindsight-bias.md)
- [All mental models](https://thinkbetter.app/mental-models.md)

Page: https://thinkbetter.app/cognitive-biases/confirmation-bias