Why Confirmation Bias Can Damage Families And Finding Ways To Combat It
A friend of mine remarked that he gets his news from only one network because “they report things that support what I believe.”
Psychologists call this “confirmation bias,” the tendency to selectively pay attention to information that reinforces our existing beliefs. This bias acts as a type of filter to our brain, denying entry to any information that contradicts our existing preconceptions.
This confirmation bias can be particularly damaging within families, and it plays itself out in a variety of ways.
Scapegoated kids. Some youngsters take a path different than their siblings. In so doing, they experience the risk of being the victims of confirmation bias. This occurs most frequently with children, typically a second or third born, who do not achieve academically or socially as well as their siblings.
On many occasions, parents’ views of their “troubled” children don’t allow them to notice the many positive achievements of their youngsters. I’ve given homework assignments that required parents to record only positive behaviors exhibited by these kids.
When forced to confront their confirmation bias, parents are surprised that even troubled youngsters are often kind, well-behaved … Read More... “Confirmation Bias Stirs Danger within Families”