7 Biases That Everyone Has (And How They F*ck Up Your Life)
12. Confirmation Bias: Think You're Always Right?
Another fun-filled fact: People like to think they’re correct – All The Time.
We like to feel special or superior to others. We get off on the joy that is being right about the fact that drinking three jugs of cider at my engagement party was a dumb idea that my wife was right about and my only pleasure that got me through my hangover was that I was less drunk than she was. I’m sorry I puked in your letter-box random stranger.
Confirmation bias is the terrible method we use to prove our “rightness”, it happens when we search for or misinterpret information in order to confirm or strengthen our preconceived ideas or belief systems.
It also explains why people have a tendency to dismiss evidence that doesn’t support their beliefs – it’s easier to feel “right” when you ignore everything that proves you wrong. That information might be gathered from Facebook groups or forums rather than medical journals, science classrooms, and laboratory research.