Introduction
Confirmation bias is a technique that reinforces an individual’s beliefs and opinions by presenting information that supports their pre exisiting position, while ignoring or downplaying information that contradicts it. This bias is powerful because it taps into the natural tendency of the human mind to seek out and accept information that confirms its beliefs.
Description
A common example of confirmation bias is how people can close themselves off to information that contradicts their political view. For example if a person has a favourable opinion of a particular politicaal party, they will be likely to seek out information that supports this opinion and reject or ignore information that contradicts it.
Example
One of the ways that you can make sure that you don’t fall into the trap of confirmation bias is by:
a) doing your own research on topics. You can use a variety of media sources to check the veracity of a fact or statement. If a news article is referenced it is always a good idea to read it for yourself.
b)you can find information about a wider range of views at ukcolumn.org. or other independent media. These organisations have been producing news for a while (UK Column 2012) and have wide resources of videos and conversations for background information.
c) actively seek out information that challenges our beliefs and opinions, and regularly questioning our own viewpoints, can help avoid political polarization and promote mutual understanding between different perspectives and opinion.
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