Confirmation Bias
- “why do I only find evidence I agree with”
- “what is confirmation bias simple”
- “how to test your own beliefs”
- “seeking out what confirms you”
:: COMPARE ::
Confirmation biasvsMotivated reasoning
The short answer
Confirmation bias is about which evidence you look at; motivated reasoning is about wanting a particular answer. The distinction matters because you can show confirmation bias with nothing at stake at all — Wason's number triples had no emotional content whatsoever.
Side by side
| Aspect | Confirmation bias | Motivated reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Driven by | Test strategy | Desired conclusion |
| Needs a stake | No | Yes |
| Conscious | Rarely | Sometimes |
| Fix | Test the opposite | Name the want |
Which one you meant
Readers who land here meaning Confirmation Bias rather than Motivated reasoning are usually searching for phrases like “why do I only find evidence I agree with”, “what is confirmation bias simple”, “how to test your own beliefs”.
Read either one in full