10+-+Question

What is the belief bias, and how can it affect our thinking?
Student Name: David Beak Date: January 29th, 2015



Belief bias is the result of what happens when one's own beliefs, knowledge, or values affect the thinking process. Belief bias is one example of overconfidence. It can affect our thinking by distorting the information of beliefs. Overconfidence leads to belief bias because our confidence causes us to think to our own values and beliefs to prove or confirm a belief. This causes thinking to become unreliable.

A good example would be a man researching about the effects of prayer on diseases. A normal person would research on the internet or find books from a library to find reliable sources and evidence. A religious person, however, would have belief bias and think that prayer has mystical properties that God answers and treats the illness supernaturally.

CITATIONS:

"Thinking." //Thinking //. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

"Belief-Bias Effect." //Definition //. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

MEDIA CITATION:

"Social Cognitive Bias, Privilege and Flaws in Moral Reasoning | Nirmukta." //Nirmukta RSS //. N.p., 23 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

COMMENT: Melissa You <span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Open Sans','Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Good job David! I love how you explained what belief bias is and how it is an example of overconfidence. I love the example you used and you could also include that people will tend to accept any and all conclusions that fit in their systems of belief, without challenge or any deep consideration of what they are actually agreeing with.

citation: http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/belief_bias.htm "Belief Bias." //Belief Bias//. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.