Home British & World English confirmation bias

Definition of confirmation bias in English:

confirmation bias

noun

mass noun

  • The tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.

    • ‘The last thing we need to do is reinforce confirmation bias.’
    • ‘The command structure appears to have become a machine generating confirmation bias.’
    • ‘Conspiracy theorists, especially, display the confirmation bias.’
    • ‘There's probably a strong confirmation bias going on with your words.’
    • ‘Experimenters might avoid or reduce confirmation bias by collaborating in experimental design with colleagues who hold contrary hypotheses.’
    • ‘Confirmation bias kicks in for the most part in a wholly subconscious manner.’
    • ‘Brooks is right - these explanations betray a rather ugly confirmation bias.’
    • ‘Consider how this rule, in combination with the first, might change your conclusions, or at least challenge your confirmation bias.’
    • ‘I believe this is what psychologists call "confirmation bias".’
    • ‘There's a considerable danger of confirmation bias in this sort of thing.’
    • ‘Researchers are sometimes guilty of confirmation bias by setting up experiments or framing their data in ways that will tend to confirm their hypotheses.’
    • ‘Perhaps most significant about the confirmation bias is that the doctrinal military decision-making process (MDMP) lends itself to its occurrence.’
    • ‘I think the answer amounts to confirmation bias.’
    • ‘Confirmation bias means we seek out information that fits with our worldview.’
    • ‘It appears now that some of the most eminent names in nutritional science practiced "confirmation bias".’
    • ‘Relying on personal experience ignores the possibility of self-deception and confirmation bias.’
    • ‘Fear and the human tendency to confirmation bias and selective thinking can sometimes lead the believer to fulfill the curse.’
    • ‘Psychologists call this "confirmation bias," the often unconscious need to find data that confirms what we already believe.’
    • ‘Projective personality testing is an example of confirmation bias.’