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ABSTRACT: This essay applies current knowledge of confirmation bias to America's diverse culture, specifically to religion and politics where myriad individual and collective beliefs are deeply imbedded and mutually exclusive. As a common and automatic human tendency, confirmation bias is a hindrance to objectivity and learning, and it consistently proves to be a factor in social conflict and political polarization.
Imagine a woman sitting at the breakfast table with her husband. Pointing toward the window, she says "Oh look, there's a cardinal." He says "I don't see a cardinal." She says, "It's right there in the holly. Maybe you can't see it from where you're sitting. Come over here." He gets up and moves around the table, leans over her shoulder, and says, "Oh yes, now I see it. What a beautiful bird. I didn't realize they were in our area this time of year."
Or, consider a different scenario. The husband says, "No, I can't see a cardinal. And I'm sure cardinals are not common here in July." She replies, "It's right there in the holly bush." He snaps "You must be crazy." He pulls out his cell phone calls a friend. "Hey, Butch. Have you seen any cardinals at your place? Not? Me neither." He disconnects and immediately aims the camera out the window in the opposite direction from where his wife pointed. He snaps a pic and turns the screen toward her. "See?" he says confidently. "I told you. There's no cardinal. Case closed." He pushes away from the table, swaggers off into the living room, and plops down in his easy chair, while his wife continues to watch the cardinal.
Now, I hope your reaction to the second vignette is "What a jerk! No one could possibly be that closed-minded." If you thought that, I commend you for recognizing confirmation bias. But I would ask, are you sure no one could be as closed-minded as that guy?
There can be no doubt that everyone is biased in certain ways. Psychologists have identified a long list of specific cognitive biases, generally characterized as systematic deviations from logic and rationality.45 Biases should not be confused with heuristics, a term describing mental shortcuts that come into play in routine situations that don't matter...