Confirmation Bias and Belief Perseverance

A series of flashcards covering key concepts related to confirmation bias and belief perseverance, aiding in the understanding of psychological study findings.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to look for, interpret, and remember information in a way that supports our existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory information.

Card Selection Task

An experiment evaluating confirmation bias where individuals make decisions based on surface cues when abstract information lacks meaning.

Belief Perseverance

The tendency to continue endorsing a belief even when disconfirming evidence is presented.

Forensic Confirmation Bias

A cognitive bias where a forensic examiner’s interpretation of evidence is influenced by prior beliefs rather than the evidence itself.

Lord, Ross, & Lepper (1979) Study

A study that demonstrated confirmation bias by showing that students favored evidence supporting their pre-existing beliefs regarding the death penalty.

Van den Eeden et al (2019) Study

A study exploring how both crime scene investigators and students are influenced by confirmation bias when assessing ambiguous evidence.

Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment

The theory that capital punishment may prevent crime, which is supported or opposed by varying research findings.

Cognitive Heuristics

Mental shortcuts or rules of thumb that simplify decision-making, which can lead to confirmation bias in abstract tasks.

Social Knowledge

The understanding and insights one gains through social experiences, which can influence decision-making in thematic tasks.

Memory for Evidence

People often have better recall for evidence that confirms their beliefs compared to evidence that contradicts them.