ELI5: What is confirmation bias?

Confirmation bias is like only listening to things that you already agree with.

Imagine you think that all cats are mean. Confirmation bias is when you only pay attention to cats that hiss or scratch, and ignore the cats that purr and cuddle. You're looking for things that prove you're right, and ignoring things that prove you're wrong!

Think about it like this:

• You have a favorite toy, let's say a red car.
• You only notice red cars on the road and think there are way more red cars than other colors.
• You don't really pay attention to the blue, green, or yellow cars, even though they are just as common.

Here's another example:

• You believe your favorite sports team is the best.
• You only read articles that praise your team and highlight their wins.
• You ignore articles that criticize your team or talk about their losses.

• Listen to different points of view.
• Look for evidence that disproves our beliefs, not just proves them.
• Be open to changing our minds when we learn new things.